The Digimon Omnibus: Kalypso
by Hathis
Summary: Book 2, AU. Apocalymon fell and the Royal Knights rebuilt. 4 years later the digidestined are drawn back to the digital world to find it once again falling into chaos, and are helpless to fight. New digidestined will rise to finish the job the others left behind.
1. The Oliphant

Welcome to _The Digimon Omnibus: Kalypso_. If you're new to TDO go to my profile and read _The Digimon Omnibus: Piedmon's Absolution_ first, otherwise this will make no sense whatsoever.

**Prologue**

The door cracked. Whatever was out there, it wanted in: badly. And judging from the destruction that had been dealt to the rest of the manor, it wouldn't quit until it had made its way into the barricaded room. The room itself wasn't very large, but for those inside it was essential. Basically just an entryway, it allowed passage into the technical hallways of the Royal Manor.

Craniamon, a tall humanoid digimon with purple armor, slammed himself against the door to aid the weakening bar that was holding it closed. Behind him, a similar humanoid with pink armor was pulling away a third being, doused in white armor, away from the door. She leaned him against the wall and held her hand against his stomach, which was covered in blood.

"Don't worry Omega," She told him comfortingly, "We're going to get you out of this."

"Where is Saka?" Omega the Omnimon asked weakly. He was too out of it to realize that his friend KabukiSakuyamon had been murdered in the hallway they had just escaped from.

"She didn't make it." Crusadermon, the fuchsia knight, replied.

"Damn it…" Omnimon winced as even his smallest breath caused him pain. A crash was heard, signaling a particularly strong strike against the door that caused part of it to crack.

"Blast…" Craniamon grumbled, "I can't hold this much longer. Rhodo, "He addressed the Crusadermon, "You need to contact Makuramon before it is too late."

"What about you?" Crusadermon inquired.

"I'll keep this door closed as long as possible," Craniamon answered, "Just contact Makuramon and get those eggs to safety."

"Good luck Terin," Crusadermon said solemnly, "Come on Omega." She wrapped her ally's arm around her shoulder and tried to stand up. She couldn't do it; it was getting too difficult for Crusadermon to manage the weight of her form.

"Leave me here." Omnimon groaned.

"Omega no!" Crusadermon was offended by the thought.

"Rhodo it's more important that you get those eggs to safety and warn Makuramon. We're not going to make it out of this, but we need to make sure that someone is there to carry on in our place."

"Damn you," Crusadermon near tears.

"It's for the best Rhodo," Said Craniamon as he struggled to keep hold of the door, "Now go!" Rhodo reluctantly let go of Omnimon and ran down the hallway at a slow pace. She felt her arm weighing her down, so ripped off the shield on her right arm and threw it down an irrelevant hallway. With less weight, she quickened her pace, and within a few minutes made it to the door she was looking for. She knocked it open and found herself in a dark square room with only three objects: a desk with a radio on it and an incubator.

***

"Ugh!" The beatings got stronger. Or maybe Craniamon was just getting weaker. He hoped it was the former. But as the door began to give way, he knew that no matter which one, it wouldn't matter.

With one final punch, the door shattered into pieces, and Craniamon was thrown back into the wall a few feet away from Omnimon. Now, the two weakened knights were getting their last look at the Digimon whom had penetrated the Royal Manor and killed all but three of the Royal Knights.

A young teen walked into the room. A hefty boy, he had short yet spiky brown hair and was dressed in an ocean blue jumpsuit with yellow sleeves and pockets.

"J.P.," A voice spoke into the com device in J.P.'s ear. "H…. says to b..ng back one of th.. alive." The other voice cut in and out, but the message was somewhat clear.

"Gaomon," He spoke to his partner, "Kill the one on the left." At the command, his partner, an upright blue dog with boxing gloves on his arms walked into the room and crushed Omnimon's head.

***

Crusadermon was fiddling with the radio. She was having trouble finding the right frequency. It seemed that in times like this the radio never worked. But finally the static ended and some feedback could be heard from the other side.

"Makuramon!" She screamed into the mic. "Makuramon please answer me!" She cried again. "Is anybody there?" She cried. No one answered. She dropped her head in defeat. No one was on the other line. But she still had one last task. She ran over to the incubator and typed in a code, instigating a beam to fire at one of the eggs. It began to materialize, about to transfer to Puppetmon's palace on Server. Then, she heard a noise from the radio.

"Thank Yggdrasil…!" She whispered. "Makuramon, is that you?" She yelled into the mic. There was still no answer, but she knew someone had been there. She just had to get them to hear her. "Makuramon, I don't know if you can hear me, but we need your help. I don't know how it happened, but we're in trouble. The Dark Beacon is back!"

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**The Digimon Omnibus**  
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**Kalypso**

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**Chapter One: The Oliphant**

**Fukagawa Senior High School**

**Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**7:00 A.M: January 11****th****, 2010**

Koushiro Izumi navigated the halls of Fukagawa Senior High School as inconspicuously as possible. After the events of the past month, he didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to himself. After all, it wasn't his fault what had happened. But that didn't stop people from staring. That didn't stop people from gossiping. That didn't stop the company his father worked at from relocating him due to the bad publicity. Some random hacker had done it, but Kyoto would forever associate the Izumi name with the greatest crime wave the city had ever seen.

It was Okawa. He had moved in next door, on the lam. Koushiro was online, as usual: nothing special. Then he got a tip. A lengthy project he had been working on. He had given up some time ago, when he came across a forum. Somebody had mentioned something. It seemed like a wild goose chase, but he went for it anyway, and didn't even find goose egg. But in his anticipation he had slipped into a government secure site, and his friendly neighborhood hacker spotted the action. He slipped in after Koushiro, and the things he got access to were too numerous to contemplate without shuttering. He only targeted local firms, which kept the bulk of the travesty to Kyoto, but it still burned.

Maybe then the move to Tokyo was for the best. After all, nobody in Tokyo cared about what was happening 500 kilometers to the west on the other coast. And his parents didn't resent Koushiro at all for the move, or so they said. Despite their best efforts, the Izumis could not convince their son that they didn't hold some sort of animosity towards him. He could see it in their eyes. They had left their friends, their home of 40 years, and their lives behind, all because Koushiro had accidentally stumbled where he didn't belong.

But that was all in the past. They were in a new city: one so big that he could have jumped off a skyscraper and only a few people would have even taken notice. Sure, Kyoto was big too, but Tokyo. No, Koushiro didn't need to worry about what had happened anymore. He was confident that he could make a new life for himself, hopefully similar to the old one except that one minor discrepancy.

Koushiro had voluntarily given up his high tech laptop in favor of a less powerful one, a move that satisfied the city of Kyoto, even if Koushiro knew he could do the same thing again if he wanted or needed to. But he wouldn't. He hadn't meant to cause so much trouble. He just needed to know. For the past four years, he had no leads, and when he finally saw that the government had information on Fac-

"Oof!" Koushiro, lost in thought, didn't see the tall dark haired boy in front of him, and collided with him at a grueling 2 miles an hour.

"Hey, watch it!" The teen protested as he and his friends congregated together to get a look at who had just run into one of them.

"Sorry…" Koushiro said with head ducked. He had dropped a book so dipped down quickly to pick it up. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Yeah no kidding." The boy growled. His scowl then disappeared to a look of curiosity. "Do I know you?" He asked suddenly.

"Uh, no, I don't think you do." Koushiro then slipped away from the scene and rushed towards his classroom.

"Huh…" The teen hummed to himself. Koushiro didn't waste any more time. He didn't want to risk another encounter. Fortunately, his first class wasn't too far away. He made it there and was relieved to find only the teacher, writing on the blackboard, and a few students keeping to themselves inside. Glancing at his schedule to get the teacher's name, he walked up to the man and addressed him.

"Mr. Fujiama?" Said Koushiro.

"Yes." The neatly kept man replied.

"My name's Koushiro Izumi; I'm new here."

"Ah," He said half heartedly, "Did you get the notes from last week?"

"Yes sir."

"Okay then, go ahead and take a seat. You don't need to do anything else, just get that first assignment in by Friday as well as the one that I'm going to assign this week." With that, he returned to what he was doing, oblivious to the boy who had just talked to him. And that was the way Koushiro wanted it. He didn't need any teachers recognizing him from the newspaper: especially this one.

Koushiro turned and started walking down the aisles of seats, trying to find a nice secluded one. He spotted a good seat on the left side of the classroom in the second to last row. The only person near it was a boy with extremely long spiky hair… sleeping. _How many spiky haired boys can there be in one school_? Koushiro thought to himself. As he walked, Koushiro glanced at the item residing on every desk. Koushiro noted the irony that his first class of the new semester would be this one.

Computer lab.

Koushiro sat down and sighed. With only minor incident, Koushiro had made it out of the crowded hallways and into his first classroom without anybody noticing him. Now he got a break until next period. A minute later the bell rang. A snort behind him signaled that his new classmate had woken up just in time for class. Koushiro kept his head low and rubbed his temple. It's only seven hours, he thought.

***

Koushiro exited the school as quickly as possible. After the ridicule he had received at his old school he was in no hurry to stay at his new one for longer than necessary. He made his way to his locker and then to the side exit. Now all he had to do was get off of campus and to the subway and he was home free.

"Hey Koushiro!" Someone behind called to him. Koushiro made the mistake of turning around. Someone had recognized him.

"I knew I recognized you." Said the dark haired boy Koushiro had run into earlier.

"Crap…" Koushiro whispered to himself. He stood still but prepped to move as the teen and his three cronies made their way over to him.

"You're that kid from Kyoto, aren't you?" He asked as his greasy bowl cut reflected the sun.

"Um… I'm not sure what you're talking about-" He wasn't allowed to finish.

"Stop lying!" Bowl cut barked. "My parents lost a fortune because of you!" He stepped up right in Koushiro's face and grabbed his collar. Just as Koushiro had expected, this was going to get violent.

"Listen, I didn't-"

"No! Punks like you are the reason people are too scared to do business with people like my parents anymore. You disgust me cyber-geek!" Bowl cut threw his face right in front of Koushiro's. Koushiro had heard all of this before, just not so up close and personal. He had to find a way out of there fast.

"I didn't do anything," Said Koushiro. "Okawa was the one-"

"I think he needs to be taught a lesson." One of the other guys snarled.

"I think you're right Takky." The leader laughed. He then threw Koushiro onto the ground and cracked his knuckles. "What do you think we should do to him?" He chuckled. Koushiro scrambled away, but the other three had closed in on him and he was now trapped. Koushiro stood up and dropped his backpack around his wrist in preparation.

"Is there a problem here?" Someone asked from the direction of the school. Everybody turned to see a tall spiky haired boy walking towards them. Koushiro recognized him as the same one who had sat behind him in the computer lab.

"Oh hey bro," Bowl cut obviously recognized him as well, "We were just about to teach this cyber-terrorist a lesson: want to help?"

"Why don't you just leave him alone okay?" The guy asked as he readjusted his backpack strap.

"Don't you recognize him from the news? He's the guy who-"

"I don't really care." Obviously he had some sort of authority over the other four boys, as they looked a little nervous.

"You're going to defend him? You don't even know him!" Bowl cut cried.

"Are you going to leave him alone Taro or should I get a teacher involved?" New guy asked cockily.

"Fine." Bowl cut, or Taro, rolled his eyes and started walking away. "Let's go guys." The other three stormed off as well.

"It's your lucky day." One of them sneered as he passed Koushiro.

"Thanks." Koushiro said to the boy once the others were gone.

"No problem." New guy said with a knowing smile on his face. Neither said anything, and after a few seconds Koushiro got uncomfortable.

"Listen I'm grateful and everything but is there something you wanted?" He didn't want to be blunt, but the other teen wasn't saying anything.

"What, you don't recognize me?" New guy chuckled.

"Um…" Koushiro stared at his rescuer with a confused look. He did look a little familiar, but then again, there were a lot of people with spiky hair. "From computer class?"

"What? No," the boy sighed. "Here, maybe this will help." New guy slipped his backpack off of his shoulder and opened it, digging around until he found what he was looking for. He then pulled out pair of blue goggles, which he proceeded to strap onto his forehead. "How about now?"

"Tai!?" Koushiro yelled in surprise.

"Izzy!" Tai yelled back. They man-hugged.

"I can't believe it," Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi scratched his head for lack of a better activity, "I had completely forgotten that you lived in Tokyo. I tried to look you up after I got back but there were so many Kamiyas in the phone book. I must have skipped over yours on accident."

"I tried to find you too, but it was the same thing. Izumi to Kyoto is like ant to ant hill. When did you move to Tokyo?"

"Last week," Izzy answered.

"Huh," Tai half laughed, "So where do you live? I'll walk you home: just in case, you know?"

"Odaiba."

"You're kidding? Me too!" Tai cheered. He slapped Izzy on the back and the pair of them started walking down the sidewalk towards the train.

***

On the subway, Tai and Izzy were speeding along towards Odaiba, deep in conversation.

"From what I had read it sounded all like Okawa's fault." Tai commented.

"It was!" Izzy enunciated in agreement. "He was the one who hacked onto _my _computer and stole the information."

"So why did everyone crucify you?"

"Because the media in Kyoto are a bunch of jerks who made me sound like an accomplice."

"Damn…" Tai shook his head, "Wait, why were you in the server in the first place?" Tai inquired.

"Well, that part was my fault." Izzy sighed. "Do you remember Factory Mark?"

"The address of that e-mail you got?"

"Yeah: I had been looking it up after I got back, but after three months I still couldn't find anything, so I gave up. But a month ago I found this forum where someone mentioned Factory Mark as a company wrapped up in the government. When I tried to look it up that way it led me to the government site so I… hacked into it."

"Oh." Tai said in surprise. "So I guess it was your fault then." He smiled jokingly. Izzy gave him a sour face but passed it away.

_"Now entering: Odaibakaihink__ōen Station."_

_ "_Here's our stop." Tai announced, and the pair hopped out of the train into the station and started walking onward. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Right over there." Izzy pointed forward at the pair of massive rectangle buildings that was the Odaiba Apartment buildings.

"Okay, now you're just screwing with me; I live there too."

"Really?" Izzy inquired.

"I'm not lying." Tai laughed, "Where are you?"

"815, you?"

"1016. I saw a moving truck last week but I'd never imagine it could have been you." They crossed the street and piled into the elevator, going up towards Izzy's house. "So is it Koushiro now or can I still call you Izzy?"

"Izzy's fine." He shrugged.

"Hey since you're only two floors down why don't you come over to my place first? Kari will be ecstatic."

"I'll just have to tell my mom; I wouldn't want her to worry."

"Of course, we're going up there anyway." The elevator stopped, and the two friends walked over to the 15th door. Izzy opened it and walked inside.

"Mom, I'm home!" He called, then leaned his head out the door. "C'mon." He said to Tai. The leader followed, slipped off of his shoes, and stood by the door as Mrs. Izumi walked in.

"Hey Koushiro," She said in passing, "Oh, who's your friend?" She noticed Tai suspiciously.

"This is Tai," Izzy replied, "He's an old friend of mine."

"Not a computer friend, I hope?" She inquired.

"Oh, no ma'am," Tai replied with a small bow, "I wouldn't know what to do with a computer if I had ENIAC itself in my room."

"He fell asleep in computer lab." Izzy added.

"Jee, thanks." Tai mumbled under his breath.

"Mom, do you mind if I go to Tai's apartment? His sister is an old friend too and I'd like to see her again."

"Where did you meet all of these people Koushiro?" His mother inquired.

"Three years ago at that summer camp." He answered. "They only live upstairs."

"That's convenient." She raised an eyebrow. "Be back before dinner."

"Thanks Mom." Izzy nodded, slipped his shoes on, and then followed Tai back outside. They took the stairs this time, not needing an elevator for two floors, and then entered Tai's house.

"Summer camp?" Tai asked sarcastically.

"Well I could have told her that we met four years ago in an alternate dimension, but somehow I don't think she would have believed it." He shrugged.

"Ha ha. I meant I'd never peg you for somebody who went to summer camp."

"Well I didn't want to go; she made me."

"Tai, who are you talking to?" Mrs. Yuuko Kamiya called from the kitchen.

"A friend of mine: Izzy." Tai called back. "You're not making any snacks are you? I don't want him to get sick his first week in Tokyo."

"Don't start with me Taichi," She walked into the room with a plate of four dark orange drinks. "Hello Izzy, it's nice to meet you. How do you know Tai? Would you like a carrot smoothie?"

"He's a pen pal who just moved to Tokyo." Tai replied, "Don't take the drink." He whispered into Izzy's ear.

"Yes, thank you." Izzy bowed. Tai rolled his eyes in a condescending fashion, but took one as well. He would dispose of it later.

"Hey Mom, hey Tai." Kari Kamiya, a twelve year old girl dressed in an odd fashion of yellow and pink clothing ran in dragging yet another spiky (yet flat) haired Japanese boy with her, "Bye Mom, bye Tai." She ran into the first of two rooms in the hallway to their left, still dragging the boy with her.

"Does Kari have a boyfriend?" Izzy inquired doubtfully.

"That's Takato," Tai answered, "He's a family friend. Come on."

"Bring Kari and Takato their drinks." Mrs. Kamiya shoved the platter in Tai's hands.

"She's not going to drink it Mom."

"Just do it." She glared with mock anger. Tai fled the scene as he ran into the room he shared with Kari. Izzy followed.

"You see," Kari was leaning over Takato, who was at the computer desk while she directed his motion. She was showing him a new online game she had found. "It's awesome isn't it?"

"You've got that right." Takato mumbled as he found himself entranced in the online video game.

"Hey Kari, hey Takato." Tai spoke from the doorway.

"Hey Tai." They both spoke half heartedly, not paying a lot of attention.

"Hey Kari." Izzy spoke to the girl. Kari didn't recognize the voice, so she turned around to investigate.

"I'm sorry do I know you?" She asked Izzy. He didn't look the same as before. He was still the same height, but that was only because he had cut off most of his hair and had grown to fill in the gap.

"Imagine him the same height but with most of that being hair." Tai joked. Izzy glared, but shook it off.

"Um…" Kari was having trouble recognizing him.

"I wish I had a pair of goggles to make people recognize me." Izzy sighed.

"Izzy!" Kari cheered. "I can't believe it!" She ran over to him and locked him in a bear hug. Izzy grunted in pain; Kari was stronger than she looked. "What are you doing here?"

"Izzy and his family are the ones who moved in last week." Tai answered for him.

"Wow! So where do you live?"

"Right downstairs in 815." Izzy answered.

"Hey Tai can I use your bathroom?" Takato asked as he said hi to the new person in passing.

"You ask that every time you're here and every time we say yes: go." Tai rolled his eyes. Takato thanked him and hastened out of the room.

"Tai, come take out this trash!" His mother called to him from the main room.

"But the dumpster is so far down there." Tai complained.

"TAICHI YAGAMI KAMIYA, GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE AND TAKE OUT HIS TRASH NOW!" The building shook.

"She's so violent." Tai said in an emasculated voice. As he exited the room, Kari and Izzy wandered if they would ever see him again.

"So were you able to find anybody else?" Kari asked obscurely. Izzy still knew what she was talking about, however.

"I was only able to find Eric and Zoe, because they lived on military bases. I talked to them for a couple years but then Eric moved back to the U.S. and Zoe moved back to Italy."

"Aw." Kari expressed.

"Yeah." Izzy concurred. They reminisced for a few minutes before Tai came back.

"Why they decided to move into the tenth floor I'll never know," Tai said exasperated, "Where they high at the time?"

"I HEARD THAT!" Mrs. Kamiya screamed from the other room.

"Tai, do yourself a favor and stop talking." Kari joked.

"Bep-bep-bep! Beeep beeep beeep! Bep-bep-bep!" A loud beeping noise sounded from the desk drawer.

"What's that?" Izzy inquired.

"I don't know." Kari shrugged. She opened the drawer and gasped.

"What's wrong?" Tai inquired.

"It's… the digivices." Kari said amazed as she pulled two identical objects out of the drawer. They both looked like beltless watches, and hooked onto them were two long strings with a hexagonal pendant attached.

"No way." Tai grabbed his digivice and stared at it intently. "I'm starting to think that maybe your being here isn't as big a coincidence as I first thought."

"No kidding." Izzy agreed. "Wait…" He listened closely to the beeping noise coming from the devices. "That's Morse code." Izzy gasped.

"What?" The two Kamiyas asked in surprise.

"It's Morse code: the Digimon are trying to communicate with us."

"You're kidding!" Tai cheered.

"No, listen:" They all listened. "S… O… Uh oh."

"What?" Kari inquired.

"S." Izzy finished.

"An SOS," Kari murmured, "They're in trouble."

The three burst out of the room with Tai in the lead. "Follow me." He instructed as they trained out of the doorway while hopping to put their shoes on.

"Where are they going?" Takato asked Mrs. Kamiya as he exited the bathroom.

"I don't know." She replied apathetically, but Takato had already taken off after them.

"Where are we going?" Izzy asked Tai as they slowed down in front of the elevator.

"The park where Kari and I were when we went to the digital world is close by." Tai answered as he rapidly pressed the down button to no avail.

"It's on the second floor." Kari looked up at the lights above the door.

"Crap…," Tai muttered under his breath.

"We can take the stairs!" Kari exclaimed as she ran to the passage that led to the stairs.

"We're ten stories up!" Tai complained, but Kari and Izzy had already started down. Tai rolled his eyes and started after them. Behind them, Takato had started jogging after them as well, deciding to wait for the elevator. Meanwhile, Tai, Kari, and Izzy were galloping down the stairs two steps at a time. Izzy stumbled a little and slowed down as Tai and Kari went on, but continued after them. Once they reached the fifth floor, however, something caught his attention. Through the passage from the stairs to the railing overlooking the courtyard, Izzy spotted a person that was unmistakable with the purple bandana over her hair.

"Yolei?" He inquired partially to himself. The girl heard him and turned around.

"Do I know you?" Yolei answered.

"It is you!" He stepped towards her, but realized that he needed to follow the others and didn't have the time to explain what was going on. "Just… stay here: on this floor: please!" Izzy then bolted down the stairs after the others. Once he reached the bottom, he saw that Takato had made it down there as well and was running after Tai and Kari.

"Guys, wait up! What's happening?" Takato called as the siblings quickened their pace.

"You'll find out." Izzy answered him as he ran faster than and past Takato.

***

Iori Hida moved his rook to E-3, and then tapped the clock. His opponent, a girl oddly dressed in blue-jeans, a yellow shirt, and a blue helmet-like hat, quietly scoffed at his move.

"What?" Iori asked irritated as the girl he had just met quietly drummed her fingers along the park bench they were at. Iori had accepted the girl's challenge to chess after he had easily defeated an older gentleman who had been there earlier.

"I don't think you're doing it right." His friend, Jeri Katou, commented as she leaned against the bench and watched.

"Quiet I can win this…!" Iori hissed.

"She's right," The girl added, "You're not doing it right." She moved her bishop, who had been quietly concealed by a mass of pawns, into the rook's space and knocked it away. But that wasn't all. "Checkmate." She announced while stopping the clock.

"What!" Iori dropped his hands against the bench and stared in bewilderment at the game stopping move. "How did you do that? Nobody's ever beaten me!"

"There's a first time for everything." The girl smiled and extended her hand. "Good game."

"Yeah, good game…" Iori begrudgingly shook the girl's hand and began to clean up. Just as he finished, he saw two of his friends (Kari Kamiya and Takato Matsuki) run by with two other people, one of which he identified as Kari's brother Tai.

"Where are Kari and Takato going?" Jeri asked.

"I don't know but it looks urgent." Iori said in a half-trance. He then ran off after them, not really sure why. Jeri hopped after Iori as well.

"Hey, you forgot your chess pieces!" The challenger called to them. She grabbed the board, box, and clock and took off after them.

***

"This is Shiokaze Park." Tai explained as they ran into a large open field where a few people were receiving food from some vendor buildings on the right side, "Well really it's more of a tourist attraction, but a lot of times we'll play soccer here. Kari and I were in those trees over there when we were brought to the digital world." The three destined and their companion crossed over the field and ran for the mini-forest to their left.

"What's the digital world?" Takato asked.

"It's not important." Tai answered.

"It seems important if we're doing all of this running just to get to some trees." As he said this the group piled into the small forest, their beeping digivices echoing all over the trees.

"What now?" Kari asked.

"Now we wait and let Makuramon do his job." Said Tai.

"I wonder if there is some significance to this forest as a pathway to the digital world." Izzy pondered as he drifted over to the edge of the woods. No one answered, so he turned around. Nobody was there. "Guys?"

**The Digital World**

Tai's eyes were shocked open. He was immediately exposed to a sea of blue. He couldn't figure out what it was, but what he did know was that he was having trouble breathing. As a matter of fact, he couldn't breathe at all. He began to flail. The sea of blue around them was just that. He was totally submerged in a body of water. He flapped his arms down, trying desperately to get higher. And just when he though his lungs would collapse from the lack of oxygen, his head broke water and he was exposed to fresh air. He breathed in rapidly, grateful for the sweet tasting air. But it didn't last long. As he wiped the water out of his eyes, the sweet smell was replaced with a putrid one. But he couldn't focus on that now; he had to find Kari and Takato. He looked around. Nobody else had surfaced.

"Kari! Takato!" He called out into the empty air. Thankfully a second later another head surfaced to his left, and Tai turned to see Kari gasping for air. "Kari, are you okay?" He asked as he swam over to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She huffed, "Where's Takato?"

"I don't know." Tai answered. Then a splash of water behind him signaled Takato's arrival.

"What the heck just happened?" Takato gasped. "Where did that wave come from?"

"It's not a wave," Tai answered as he stroked over to Takato with Kari hanging on his arm, "It's a wormhole to another dimension.

"Then why are we in water?" Takato asked irritated.

"This is just where the wormhole happened to drop us off." Tai shrugged.

"Do you realize how insane you sound right now?" Takato growled.

"If you don't believe me, look over there." Tai pointed to their left, and everyone turned to see the sight that Tai had spotted while making sure everybody was okay. It was a lone island, with nothing but neatly cut grass and a huge white medieval manor taking up the center of the island. An abnormality in the form of a pillar of smoke was coming from the back of the building, the source of the putrid odor. "How many of those do you see in Japan?"

"Where do you think this is?" Kari asked Tai.

"Probably the Royal Knight's castle, up on the fifth plane, that Leopardmon was talking about."

"What's a Leopardmon?" Takato asked as he scrambled onto the shore.

"You really shouldn't have followed us Takato," Tai said as he and Kari walked onto the beach, "But since you did: do you remember four years ago when Kari and I disappeared and you couldn't find us until the next morning?"

"Yeah…?" Takato didn't see the connection.

"Well this is where we went." Tai started towards the castle. "Let's hope whatever the emergency is we weren't just brought into the center of it."

"Have we ever been that lucky?" Kari asked rhetorically as she followed. Takato stood behind them confused.

"Takato, stay close!" Tai ordered him. Takato came out of his head and followed.

"How do you think we were brought here? The data streams were destroyed." Kari inquired of Tai as the three of them quickly ran up to the door, and then Tai checked to see if it was open. It was. They slipped in and found themselves in a pure white hallway that split off in several directions. "Which way?" Kari inquired. A loud thump in the distance to the right answered that question.

"Maybe they repaired themselves," Tai sighed, "I don't know." Tai lead the way down the corridor, and after weaving through it for a few minutes (guided by various dents, cave-ins, and burns on the wall) arrived at a door that was smashed in.

"I really hope our guys did this," Tai muttered.

"Maybe we should turn back." Said Takato. "This is starting to look really dangerous."

"The Royal Knights are our friends; we're not leaving until we know they're okay." Kari answered him.

"And we can't leave you by yourself." Tai added. He then continued down the hallway. A few dozen yards later, the group passed a hallway to their right with a shining pink object laying in it.

"Oh no!" Kari bolted down the hallway and skidded to a halt by the object. "It's Crusadermon's shield."

"This isn't good." Tai murmured. "I didn't even know Crusadermon could take it off of her arm."

"This shield is impenetrable," Kari sighed, "If the Royal Knights were under attack she wouldn't leave this behind for anything."

"Then there must be a pretty good reason she did it this time." Tai began walking down the hall. "We should keep moving." Before he got too far, a thunderous slamming noise sounded from the continuation of the hall they had turned off of. The three rushed back to the original hallway and turned to the right, towards the direction they hadn't come from, to see what was happening.

"Crusadermon!" Kari cried at the sight of her battered partner, collapsed in the middle of the floor, cradling something in her arm. She slowed down rapidly and dropped to her knees and held her partner's head. "Crusadermon, what happened?"

"Kari, what are you doing here?" Crusadermon asked weakly.

"We got an SOS from the digivices. They brought us here. What's happening; where are the others?"

"They're all dead…" Crusadermon answered, "Kari, the Dark Beacon is back; but it's different: stronger, more focused. It's operating on a whole new level that's…" She couldn't finish. There was an unseen wound on her back.

"Do you know who is doing this?" Tai asked sorrowfully as he walked over to his friend. "Is it Apocalymon?"

"I don't know," She answered, "Maybe. I think it might be whoever created it for the Dark Masters in the first place but…

"But what?" Kari asked worriedly.

"Whoever's doing it is a lot more of a copycat than just the beacon. They…" Crusadermon started coughing violently.

"Crusadermon, just rest for a minute; we'll get you out of here and you can tell us later."

"No, there isn't time." She sputtered. Crusadermon then took the item she was holding and held it up in the air, trying to hand it to somebody. "Take it. Get it to safety."

"What's so important about this digi-egg?" Tai asked as he reached for it.

"Nothing." A teen voice sounded from the hall. Tai looked up along with Kari and Takato to see a large boy in blue staring at them, forgetting to grab the digi-egg.

"Please, someone protect it." Crusadermon pleaded. Takato complied and, while still disturbed about what was happening, took the egg and held it in both arms.

"Why is it not important?" Tai growled.

"It's not important because in a few moments we're going to kill it and wipe out its significance all together." He scoffed.

"We?" Kari barked. The boy responded by raising his hand halfway up, signaling another figure, an upright dog with red boxing gloves, to come out from behind him.

"You think we're scared of a rookie Digimon?" Tai asked a little pretentiously.

"That's part of the power of the new beacon," Crusadermon groaned, "It makes them stronger and us weaker."

"Weaker?" Kari whined.

"Weaker than a baby Digimon," The new boy laughed, "She can barely even walk upright, let alone defend herself against us."

"So there are more of you." Tai stated angrily.

"It doesn't matter, because your deaths have all been ordered. Gaomon, kill them."

"Run!" Crusadermon screamed.

"We won't leave you." Kari protested.

"Go!" Crusadermon shoved Kari away, and then lunged at Gaomon to give them time to flee.

"Crusadermon no!" Kari ran after her, but Tai grabbed his sister's hand and started running in the opposite direction. Takato trotted alongside them. "I won't leave her!"

"She's sacrificing herself so that we can escape; don't let that be in vain!" Tai shepherded Kari in front of him and kept her moving as fast as they could.

"Stop toying around and go after them!" The boy, J.P., ordered to his partner. Gaomon complied and threw Crusadermon against the wall. She punched her in the gut, puncturing her stomach and killing her.

"GYUGH!" Crusadermon coughed a spat of blood before falling to the ground and dissipating into a stream of data.

"No…" Kari choked back tears.

"What are you waiting for?" J.P. ordered in annoyance. Gaomon ran after them as fast as he could, but fear was too big a motivator. Tai, Kari, and Takato bolted through the hallways and back to the main hallway, towards the door. They jumped through it with intense speed with Gaomon right on their tails.

"Where do we go now?" Takato cried as they ran straight with no particular purpose.

"Back into the water," Tai answered, "The Royal Knights didn't call us here, which means the digivices are responsible. If they brought us here for this purpose, then now that we're done they'll bring us back."

"Are you sure?" Takato's voice cracked.

"Not at all." Tai answered with confidence.

"That's not comforting!" Takato exclaimed.

"He's gaining on us!" Kari warned, looking back. She was right. Gaomon was kicking up grass and dust as he came within a few inches of Tai's heels. Fortunately, they had made it to the beach.

"Dive in!" Tai ordered. Neither one questioned him. At the edge of the water they jumped as far as they could to get as deep as they could. The ground under the water was very steep fortunately, and they made it into deep water without injury.

"Go after them!" J.P. screamed. Gaomon shook himself and then dived in after them. But as he looked around, confusion consumed him as the digidestined were nowhere in sight.

***

"Jim, why are we doing this?" Joe Kido rolled his eyes for the fifth time as he and his older brother Jim sat on the boardwalk of Odaiba, fishing in the middle of Tokyo Bay. He was a lanky fellow, 17, in a blue school uniform with long, hippy-like hair.

"Mom wanted us to go out and get dinner. I thought we might be a little creative." Jim shrugged.

"Jim, this is Tokyo Bay. The only fish in here that aren't dead have three eyes and wings instead of fins." He said sarcastically.

"You're always in such a rush, aren't you?" Jim sighed. "You can never take a minute to enjoy the simple pleasures in life: like fishing for mutant sea creatures."

"You're always trying to teach me a lesson." Joe rolled his eyes for the sixth time. "What is this about, Harvard?"

"I just don't see what's wrong with going to a school in your own country. I mean, I might be crazy but…" He said facetiously.

"Harvard Medical School is one of the best in the world. Getting into there will be the greatest achievement in my life."

"At the cost of your sanity?" Jim exclaimed. "Joe, you already push yourself enough. If you get into Harvard you'll have to shove learning in an entire language into your year before college. Why are you always trying to save the world at the cost of your own life and happiness?"

"It's too hard to explain." Joe replied, thinking back.

"So try me." Jim urged. As he spoke he could see that Joe was not completely listening to him. Instead, he was staring to their right at someone leaning against a podium, overlooking the water in a stressed out manner with his hair in his hands.

"Is that…?" Joe stared at the boy intently. He was very good with faces, but couldn't place this one too well. "It couldn't be."

"Izzy!" A girl, the same age as the boy, dressed in a green school uniform and pants, stormed towards the worried boy with a furious look on her face.

"I don't believe it…" Joe stood up in bewilderment.

"Yolei!" Izzy turned around in surprise as the angry girl stomped closer to him.

"What is the matter with you!?" She screamed as she approached the peer. "I haven't seen you for four years, and then you just bump into me in my home and tell me to _wait there_ without any explanation as to what you're doing there!"

"Um, I'm sorry?" Izzy said nervously.

"What the hell is going on Izzy?" She demanded. "Was that Tai and Kari with you?"

"Yeah…" Izzy was nervous due to the angry woman standing in front of them.

"Is that all you have to say? Tell me what's going on!"

"Yeah, it's… complicated. You see-"

"Izzy, Yolei?" Someone spoke to their right.

"You're really just going to leave me Joe?" Jim asked irritated. Fine then, I'll go home." Jim shrugged and walked off.

"Joe?" Yolei gasped. "Joe Kido."

"Honestly I'm not surprised." Izzy said. "That whole digidestined thing probably wasn't just a fancy title."

"What's going on?" Joe asked. "You said Tai and Kari were here too?"

"Yeah," Yolei replied, "But I'd no more if Izzy would stop stuttering and answer me."

"I'm trying but you keep yelling at me." Izzy protested.

***

"There," Iori, a short boy in tan clothing and bowl-cut, pointed over to the boardwalk where three figures were standing, "That boy with the short hair is the one that was with Tai and Kari."

"What do you think is going on?" Jeri Katou, a girl one year Iori's senior with long brown hair tied in a pig-tail on one side and wearing a long green dress-shirt, asked.

"I don't know but Tai and Kari looked really worried, we should go figure it out." Iori answered her. They then made their way over to the boardwalk, with another girl following a little ways behind them.

***

Tai gasped for air, again, and shook the water off of his face so he could get a better look at his surroundings. He was in another body of water, and fortunately this time Kari and Takato were floating next to him.

"So where are we now?" Kari gasped while keeping her head afloat. Takato solved that question for them. He accidentally dipped his head underwater and swallowed a mouthful of water.

"Pugh!" Takato spit out the water violently. "That tastes disgusting."

"It's polluted," Tai sighed with relief, "We must be in Tokyo Bay."

"Oh, look." Kari nodded to their front, and Takato and Tai looked up to see the Odaiba boardwalk a few yards in front of them. On that dock was also a group of six people: Izzy Izumi, Yolei Inoue, Joe Kido, Iori Hida, Jeri Katou, and some other girl they didn't recognize.

"Joe, Yolei, what a surprise," Tai laughed, "Did you just move to Tokyo or do you live here?"

"I live here," Joe answered as he helped Tai out of the water. Izzy and Yolei helped Kari and Takato out.

"I moved onto the fifth floor of your apartment building three months ago." Yolei added.

"Huh, I'm sorry I didn't notice you." Tai tried to dry himself as best as possible.

"Do you mind telling us what's going on Tai?" Yolei grumbled. "Like what you were doing diving in the chemical sea?"

"Well we didn't start out there," Takato commented as he brushed some of the water out of his hair," Although I couldn't tell you where we were the rest of the time."

"It was the digital world," Tai answered for Joe and Yolei, "We got an SOS on our digivices. This park was where Kari and I first came to the digital world, so we came here and as luck would have it fell right back into the digital world."

"What happened there?" Izzy inquired.

"Nothing good," Tai answered, "The Dark Beacon is back and it's stronger than before. They killed Crusadermon with a rookie Digimon." At his words Kari let out a short whimper.

"Oh God…" Yolei covered her mouth.

"Not just Crusadermon," Kari said through suppressed tears, "All of them. Omnimon, GoldenRapidmon, they're all gone."

"No," Izzy bit down on his finger.

"What about Puppetmon and the others, are they gone too?" Yolei asked with worry.

"We don't know," Tai answered, "But what we do know is that there's at least one new evil digidestined. He came in and destroyed all of the Royal Knights, and then he tried to destroy us. We were fortunate enough to make it out alive, at least with one survivor." He waved his hand over to Takato, who although confused came forth with egg in hand.

"A digi-egg," Izzy examined, "Who's in it?"

"We don't know," Tai shrugged, "But Crusadermon wanted us to protect it."

"Excuse me," Iori half rose his hand, "but do you think you might enlighten the rest of us as to what in the heck you're talking about?"

"Yeah I wouldn't mind knowing what just happened." Takato agreed. "Who's that?" Takato nodded to the girl in the blue helmet-hat, who was standing off to the side in confusion.

"I, uh, they forgot their chess set." She answered, feeling a little foolish.

"Is the digi-egg glowing?" Yolei observed. Everyone directed their attention back to the object held by Takato, which they could now see was covered in some sort of aura.

"It looks like… data," Izzy added, "Maybe it brought back something from the digital world."

"How do you know it's not supposed to look like that?" Tai asked. "We've never brought something from the digital world back to the human world before. Not that we've had a lot of opportunities but still."

"We've brought back our digivices and they didn't have this field." Izzy answered as he reached to touch the egg. As he did so, the egg's shine intensified.

"Uh, what's it doing now?"

"Whatever hooked onto the egg during the journey through the wormhole must be about to materialize." Izzy said bewildered. Then, the egg flashed a bright light and a second later the scenery had changed. The field around the reddish egg was gone, but now two dangling chains were suction hooked to it. One looked sort of like a non-flip cell phone, but bulkier in width and with only a few buttons. The other was something the digidestined had all seen before: a hexagonal pendant with an apparently meaningless symbol engraved into a plate in its center.

"A (new) digivice and a crest," Tai gasped, "This Digimon's a digidestined."

"Um, people," The new girl whined from the side. Everyone turned to see that she now held a crest and digivice in her hands as well. Needless to say she had dropped the chess set.

"No way," Tai dragged her over to Takato so that they now stood next to each other. "You're both digidestined: new ones, but digidestined all the same."

"What's a digidestined?" Takato asked nervously. He was being introduced into too much new terminology at once. Unfortunately his answer would have to wait. Before anyone knew what was happening, a giant stream of water blasted out of the bay, engulfed Takato, the new girl, and Joe Kido, and fell back into the body of water, taking both of the 12 year olds and the 17 year old with it.

"Well that can't be good."

AU. Apocalymon fell and the Royal Knights rebuilt. 4 Years later the digidestined are drawn back to the digital world to find it once again falling into chaos. Helpless to fight, new digidestined will rise to finish the job the others left behind.


	2. And So We Go

I suppose this would be a good time to say that I am swamped with schoolwork and will have trouble uploading chapters, but I will try my best.

**Chapter Two: And So We Go**

Takato opened his eyes. He was a thin boy with messy brown hair and a blue-sweatshirt. Bright light beamed down from above. Noises of a forest drifted through the open spaces around him. Takato didn't know where he was, but he was laying on something soft and didn't want to move.

"Crap…" He muttered, "Where am I now?" He leaned upwards and propped his torso up with his arms, getting a look around. The first thing he noticed was the red digi-egg sitting in front of him, unharmed from whatever exploits had brought them there. Then, he realized he was in a very small clearing of grass. Around him was a lush, spacey forest filled with tropical trees and plants. But the temperature was cool, frigid even. In fact, as he became more focused he realized that he was lying not on grass but on a thin layer of snow.

"Jeez that's cold!" Takato exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. He scooped up the egg and began to get a better look around. But there was no point. The woods extended for what seemed like forever.

"Hey, are you alright?" A voice inquired from the right. Takato jumped a little as his head darted to the right. Fortunately, the voice belonged to the girl who had accompanied him to the digital world.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Takato answered, "You?" She nodded in response.

"I'm Sora," The girl extended her hand, "Sora Takenouchi."

"Takato Matsuki," Takato shook Sora's hand.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Sora asked.

"Tai- my friend from the boardwalk- called it the digital world." Takato answered.

"That doesn't answer anything." Sora commented. A crack disrupted them.

"Oh!" Takato looked down to see that the egg in his hands was beginning to hatch. Takato set the egg down in a snowless spot to observe. "I hope it's not another boxing dog."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sora asked as she stood next to Takato to watch the egg hatch.

"It's uh, complicated." Takato shrugged. He turned his attention back to the egg. It was shaking rather violently and pieces of shell were cracking left and right. Within a minute, the egg had shattered and a tiny red ball creature with long bat-wing-like ears and deep black eyes rolled out of the shell and shook its eyes open.

"jari!" The tiny creature squeaked.

"What do you think it is?" Sora inquired.

"I don't know," Takato said in awe, "But it doesn't have any legs or arms or tail or… or anything. It's just a ball with ears and eyes."

"jari!" The creature cheered again. It bounced up and down in excitement, and then unexpectedly hopped into Takato's arms.

"Ayah…!" Takato gave a nervous gasp as the creature cheered in his arms.

"I guess it likes you." Sora smiled.

"Okay then," Takato said with a mildly disturbed look on his face, "But that's not going to help us get out of here." A whirring noise caught his attention. "What's that?"

"Move!" Sora grabbed Takato's arm and yanked him out of the way as a huge shuriken sliced through the air and slammed into the tree behind them with a thwack. Takato stood speechless, trying to understand what had just happened.

"Wha… wha… what…" Takato started to stutter.

"Blast!" A voice screamed from above as the shuriken popped out of the trunk and spun back into the tree tops. "There goes the element of surprise." It complained. The two humans then jumped back as a lanky figure wrapped it's coiled green arms around two trees in front of the digidestined and propped itself up with its feet: if you could call them feet. The humanoid didn't have real limbs, feet, or hands. Instead, his appendages were coiled green wires, and its hands and feet were three sided shuriken three times a foot or hand's size. The warrior himself was covered in white clothing, his face masks by a cloth draped over it. A head band held the disguise up, and large leaves acted as shoulder pads.

"What's that?" Sora exclaimed.

"I am Shurimon," The shrouded warrior growled, "Leader of the land corps of the soldiers of the Glorious Revolution."

"You're an Englishman?" Takato asked half jokingly and half out of curiosity.

"Silence or I shall kill you!" It ordered.

"You already tried to do that, why should we expect you won't do it again?" Sora growled at him.

"You have quite a mouth little girl. You should be more wary of those whom are superior to you."

"No!" She barked back.

"I said silence!" Shurimon ordered. "Or I will kill you where you stand!"

"We should listen to him." Takato mumbled into Sora's ear.

"Did you not just here me?" Shurimon yelled. "I'll have both of your heads!" Shurimon reached onto his back and pulled off a larger four pronged shuriken on his back, and threw it at the two pre-teens.

"Run!" Sora grabbed Takato's wrist and jumped away as the blade whizzed through the air.

"jari!" The red ball creature hopped out of Takato's arms towards Shurimon, rolling over the shuriken in the process.

"Jari no!" Takato held out his hand, but it was to no avail.

"jari!" the baby Digimon fired a stream of bubbles at Shurimon. They popped in his face harmlessly, but it was enough to distract him. The shuriken crashed into the ground at the same time that the jari creature fell down.

"You!" He pointed at the newly hatched creature, "You dare have the audacity to strike me? You shall suffer dearly for that!" With that, Shurimon slid down the tree and slammed down right in front of him. "Prepare for a most humiliating defeat." He slammed his shuriken arm down, but the jari hopped away as fast as it could. "Do not run away!" He ordered, but the jari wouldn't listen.

"Hey stop!" Takato slid out of his and Sora's hiding place and threw his arms out to defend the little creature.

"Out of my way or suffer my wrath!" Shurimon ordered.

"No, he's just a baby! He was only trying to help me!" Takato argued.

"Fine then, you shall die as well." Shurimon slashed his blade at Takato.

"Agh!" The boy stumbled back to dodge Shurimon's attack, falling to his backside in the process.

"I was going to let you live so you could tell your masters to cease their silly game, but now you've given that privilege to the girl. Goodbye!" Shurimon slashed his blade down at the defenseless Takato.

"Ayah!" He covered his arms in helpless defense. Then, Takato's digivice (which was clipped to his belt) shot out a bright white light which engulfed the jari, who was running back towards Takato and Shurimon.

**"jari, jari jari jaa-rii… Guilmon!" **The light broke away, and before them now stood a red raptor with ears just like that of the jari, yellow eyes, a white belly, and random black stripes and markings on his body.

"Grr…" The new creature growled.

"Jari?" Takato's eyes stared widely at the new creature. Shurimon had halted his assault at the sight of the white light and retracted his arm.

"Digidestined." The Shurimon glared at the creature, Guilmon.

"Pyro Sphere!" The dinosaur shot a blast of red fire at Shurimon, who lunged away and curled into a defensive stance.

"Jari…?" Takato's voice cracked as he quickly scooted over to a nearby tree.

"Guilmon." The creature corrected him as it walked by.

"Okay then…"

"You realize by revealing your true intentions I can no longer even consider letting any of you live, do you not?" The Shurimon questioned as he prepared to attack.

"Grr…" Was all Guilmon had to say.

"Fine: don't answer me, just die! Double Stars!" With that he shot out his coiled arms as the shuriken blades spun towards Guilmon.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon fired back with his fire attack, and then ran around to flank the plant-like warrior.

"Do not dare!" Shurimon yelled as he swung his stretched out arm around and smashed it into Guilmon's side and threw him off of his feet.

"Guilmon no!" Takato protested.

"Silence!" Shurimon ordered. "I will deal with you soon enough human!"

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon hopped over Shurimon and fired at him from above. Shurimon slipped out of the range of fire and jumped up, kicking Guilmon in the chest and knocking him into a tree. "Gah!"

"Oh no…" Takato had dragged himself to a stand and was now the focus of Shurimon's attention.

"And now to deal with you." Shurimon pointed at Takato as he walked forward.

"Takato we have to move!" Sora appeared from behind Takato's tree and grabbed his arm, preparing to drag him into the forest. Shurimon wouldn't allow that however. He shot his two arms into some trees behind the two humans, blocking their escape.

"Let's not have any of that now." Shurimon growled.

"Puppet Pummel!" A shrouded figure fell out of the canopy and dropped a huge mallet on top of Shurimon's head. The force of the hammer was enough to temporarily knock out Shurimon.

"Come with me." The creature ordered as it slipped its mallet into a sheath on its back. The mannequin type creature then ran over to Guilmon and picked him up, running into the forest. Takato and Sora, still stunned, ran after him.

* * *

They ran for maybe half an hour.

The puppet creature slowed down near a tall thicket, and then shoved some of it out of the way to reveal a pathway to the other side. He let Takato and Sora go first, and then covered the portal back before following them. Emerging on the other side, Takato and Sora gasped a little when they saw a massive black palace 50 or so feet tall hidden in the wall of shrubbery.

"Good hiding spot," Takato mumbled.

"This way," The mannequin summoned them as he raced up the stairs towards the double doors, "Follow me please." Takato and Sora kept going and entered the dimly lit castle with the creature. In the main hall they discovered was sort of a makeshift hospital. A few creatures of various types were tending to a few other creatures resting on some grass floor mats. The wooden hero took Guilmon over to one of the beds and placed him down. He then summoned a tall swan creature and instructed it to tend to Guilmon. The swan complied and the puppet then returned to Takato and Sora.

"Are you okay children?" He asked in a squealing voice.

"Yeah, we're fine." Sora answered for both of them, looking around in awe at the spectacle of ethnological creatures around her.

"Good: come with me." He then started up one of the grand staircases.

"But what about…" Takato began to protest leaving Guilmon behind.

"Your partner will be okay boy," the puppet answered as he neared the top of the staircase, "But please come with me in the meantime." Takato gave up and followed Sora as she started up the staircase. At the top, puppet man led them down another corridor to a room under guard by some sort of living tree. The puppet waved the guard off and the three of them then entered. Puppet man flicked on a light switch: partially illuminating the room and exposing its contents to Takato and Sora. In the room was an assortment of objects: one was a desk with a radio and a clear canister on it. In that canister was a digi-egg, being kept warm in an incubator. On the other side of the room was a cot with a teen with long blue hair sleeping on it.

"That's the guy who was with everyone when we got back," Takato observed, "I wonder who he is."

"Joe Kido," Puppet man answered while fiddling with the egg canister, "You both have a digivice?"

"Uh huh." They nodded.

"And the Guilmon is the boy's partner?"

"Partner?" Takato inquired, confused.

"Ah, so that would be a yes." He finished opening the container, removed the egg, and then turned around and handed it to Sora. "Take good care of it."

"Um, what?" Sora was a little stunned. "I think you've got the wrong person."

"In that egg is your partner," Said puppet man. "The Royal Knights figured out how to determine who would be the next chosen in the event that more digidestined were needed, and they found that this egg would be next. Ergo, if you have a digivice then you're a digidestined then the Digimon in the egg is your partner." He started using the radio. "Is anybody there?" He asked into the microphone a few times. Nobody answered. "I haven't received any transmissions from the Royal Knights for a few hours now. Do you know why?"

"I met one of them: Crusadermon," Takato answered, "She said they were all dead. Then something called a Gaomon killed her." He expressed solemnly.

"Damn…" Puppet man mumbled under his breath. "Then we are truly alone."

"Could you tell us what's happening here," Sora inquired, "Staring with your name?"

"I am Puppetmon," Puppetmon answered, "Lord of the Forest and protector of its Digimon and the Digimon of the continent of Server. I was a partner Digimon to the Digidestined Yolei Inoue, and four years ago we saved the digital world from a tyrant known as Apocalymon."

* * *

One year ago a trio of human children appeared and unleashed the dark beacon, unprovoked and for no apparent reason, as opposed to the last group of evil Digidestined. They found a way to harness the Dark Beacon and proceeded to focus it and weaken every Digimon higher than the rookie level. By harnessing the power of the digimentals, however, they quickly built an army of armor Digimon (of the champion power level) and proceeded to take over the continent of Server and the surrounding ocean via some unknown method for spreading the beacon.

* * *

"Okay…" Takato said a little suspicious.

"Do you not believe me?" Puppetmon cocked his head as he poured some water into a bowl from a sink in the corner.

"Well it sounds a little farfetched." Sora said apologetically.

"I am a living mannequin. You were just attacked by a plant ninja and saved by a fire breathing dinosaur. Is my story more farfetched than that?"

"Takato!" Guilmon ran into the room with his nasally voice and hopped onto Takato's chest, knocking him over.

"Ayah!" Takato cried as he fell over.

"Hey… jari is it?" Takato breathed from the ground.

"It's Guilmon. And you're Takato! I learned that from the blue headed girl." He said innocently.

"Well, Guilmon, you're standing on my chest and I can't breathe."

"Oh, sorry." He ducked off of his partner and lowered his head to help the boy up.

"You see?" Puppetmon asked as he poured a little bit of the water down Joe's throat. "You two are partners. Takato was in trouble so Guilmon digivolved to rookie to defend him."

"But what does that mean?" Sora asked. "Do you want us to run around this 'digital world' trying to stop these evil Digidestined and putting our lives at risk?"

"That's exactly what you're supposed to do." Puppetmon answered. "Without you the digital world will be helpless to stop the onslaught of the evil Digidestined, and the evil tamers themselves will never be free of the curse they've been afflicted with."

"But we're just kids." Takato protested.

"That's what the first Digidestined argued," Puppetmon replied, "They got over that really quickly."

Joe started to gag a little as he began to wake up from the water pouring down his throat.

"Joe: Joe Kido," Puppetmon snapped his fingers in front of the sleeping boy's face, "Wake up; you're needed."

"Puppetmon…?" Joe asked groggily.

"Wake yourself up. There's work to be done. The digital world is in danger."

"Again?" Joe groaned as he leaned up against the wall, spotting Takato and Sora. "Are you two okay?"

"All things considering?" Sora shrugged. "Not really."

"I'm sorry you had to be thrown into this," Joe apologized, "But I guess that's kind of the norm for Digidestined."

"Joe, what are you doing here?" Puppetmon inquired. "You are not of new Digidestined."

"I was standing next to them when the wormhole opened up," Joe answered as he stood up, "I must have been taken in by mistake."

"Let's hope the Destined Key doesn't make much more mistakes." Puppetmon muttered.

"Your friend wants us to help save the digital world," Takato addressed Joe as he scratched the dip between Guilmon's head and nose, "Do you realize how insane that sounds?"

"Unfortunately you're going to realize he's right," Joe answered, "When the digital world is in serious danger it has a way of convincing you to help."

"That doesn't make any sense either." Sora groaned.

"Both of you," Puppetmon began to push the two destined out of the room, "Go relax downstairs, get to know your partner, we need to discuss our next move."

"What: we don't get to be included?" Sora complained.

"You don't want to help anyway, why should you be included in discussion?" Puppetmon forced all three (Takato, Sora, and Guilmon) out, and sent them downstairs.

* * *

Takato and Sora sat on some benches in the main hall, waiting anxiously for Puppetmon and Joe to come down. In the meantime, Takato was having a conversation with Guilmon.

"So… what are you exactly?" Takato inquired of Guilmon, who was sitting in front of him with a curious look on his face.

"I thought I was a Digimon," He replied, "Why: do I look like something else?"

"No, I mean I heard what Puppetmon said about Digimon," Takato protested, "With the Digivolution and the alternate universe-"

"Because that in and of itself makes perfect sense," Sora mumbled.

"But I don't know _what_ Digimon are." Takato explained, ignoring the girl next to him.

"Hmm, I never thought of that." Guilmon tapped his claw to his chin. "I don't know." Takato sighed, giving up.

"So why did you save me?"

"Shurimon was about to hurt you. I couldn't let that happen." The raptor smiled.

"But why did you care?" Takato cocked his head.

"I don't know," Was Guilmon's stock answer. Takato sighed: again.

"Were you with Guilmon before he hatched?" The nurse swan walked over to them and inquired.

"Yeah," Takato replied, "He hatched just before Shurimon attacked us and he evolved into Guilmon."

"Well that would be why. Just holding a digi-egg forges a bond between the two of you. You were friends before Guilmon even hatched." She answered and then moved on towards a patient in need.

"Did that just bother you that a talking bird explained something to you?" Sora asked in bewilderment.

"A lot of things about this place bother me, but if I think about them they'll make my head spin." Takato answered. Sora didn't respond. He turned his head to see that Guilmon was now sniffing her knee, causing the girl to cringe a little.

"You smell good." The Digimon said obliviously.

"Um, thank you," Sora answered warily, "My family owns a flower shop." But Guilmon had already moved on. He was now sniffing Takato's knee.

"You smell better," Guilmon noted to Sora's insult, "Like food! Is that bread?" Guilmon continued to Sora's relief.

"My family owns a restaurant," Takato explained, "The Akabeko."

"I've eaten there before, that's a good restaurant." Sora commented.

"Thank you." Takato spoke.

"What's a restaurant?" Guilmon grumbled as he laid his head on Takato's lap.

"You're kind of naïve aren't you buddy?"

"What's a naïve?" Guilmon inquired.

"Guilmon digivolved shortly after he was born," The swan Digimon explained from across the room, "He didn't have the time to understand many of the things that normal baby Digimon learn. He will adapt though." Before Takato could respond, Puppetmon and Joe started walking down the steps.

"Digidestined, you are still here. I am pleased." Puppetmon sighed as he finished going down the steps.

"Well where else were we supposed to go?" Sora shrugged.

"Can I ask you something Puppetmon?" Takato inquired.

"Of course Takato Matsuki," The Digimon answered, "As they say… shoot."

"You and Crusadermon said the evil Digidestined were suppressing everyone with the Dark Beacon and making themselves stronger. So was Shurimon the partner of one of the evil Digidestined, because I didn't see any other humans around."

"No," Puppetmon replied, "Shurimon is one of the evil Digidestined's three generals."

"So how does he keep his power if the Dark Beacon suppresses it?"

"Shurimon is the result of armor Digivolution," Puppetmon explained, "You see there are artifacts hidden throughout the digital world called digimentals. They are from another age and only a few hundred exist, but they grant a Digimon to Digivolve to the power of a champion in a way that the Dark Beacon cannot affect. Unfortunately most of the digimentals have been claimed by soldiers of the evil Digidestined's army who had already pledged allegiance to them in return for acceptable living conditions and not being destroyed, of course. Swanmon here is one of the few armor Digimon that have joined our side." Puppetmon nodded to the swan Digimon tending to patients.

"There's something else though." Said Joe. "There is an island in the ocean some ways from here called File Island, where we first Digidestined started our journey. The way that we used to get here the first time has a gate on File Island, but we don't know if it works. If you want to get home, that's your best bet."

"Are you serious?" Takato sprang up in excitement, knocking Guilmon's head off of his lap and surprising the dinosaur.

"But there is one condition," Puppetmon warned, "On File Island is one of our allies. You must promise to listen to his reasons for your staying. If after that you still refuse to help our world then Joe Kido will help you find the gate, if it still exists."

"Will you agree to that?" Joe inquired. Both of the destined nodded.

"Is that okay with you Guilmon?" Takato asked his partner.

"I don't really know what's going on but wherever you go I'm fine with going." The red creature smiled.

"Joe knows the way," Puppetmon explained, "He will take you to the port city where my friend HiAndromon is stationed. He will charter you passage to the Island."

"Thank you." The two kids nodded.

"We'd better get going." Joe grabbed a bag of food and canteens he and Puppetmon had packed earlier and started towards the door.

"What about Shurimon?" Sora asked as they started towards the door. "Won't he try to attack us again?"

"Do not worry," Puppetmon dismissed her fears, "Shurimon does not stay in one location for long. He will go back to his bosses and report on what has happened. By the time he comes back you all will be long out of the forest. Oh, one more thing. There are two paths through the desert. They both lead to the port city that'll take you to File Island, but one of them-" Puppetmon didn't get to finish. Before he could react a segment of the wall and ceiling of the main hall were ripped off of the castle and flung to the side, creating an opening in the ceiling.

"All this time, the resistance was hiding right under our noses." Shurimon grumbled. "How long have you had this shrub wall here guarding you? Or did you move in once you realized that standing against us was virtually futile?"

"Why don't you come down here and see how futile our resistance really is?" Puppetmon barked at the Digimon confidently.

"Nice try," Shurimon laughed, and then shot his arms forward into the hall. Puppetmon ripped off the marionette handle that was strapped to his back and held it in front of him to defend himself. However Shurimon wasn't aiming for Puppetmon. His arms instead wrapped around Sora and her Digi-egg and slung her up and out of the building.

"AYAH!" Sora cried as she was drawn high up in the air above even Shurimon.

"Sora!" Takato called to the girl.

"Let her go!" Puppetmon ordered.

"If you want her so much come and get her!" Shurimon yelled back.

"Please, leave us alone!" Swanmon cried. "This is merely a hospital for the sick and injured! We mean no harm!"

"I have no interest in your hospital," Shurimon growled, "But if you want it to remain intact then Puppetmon and the humans must leave the premises to come out and face me."

"Why does he want us to leave?" Joe asked Puppetmon.

"My palace protects us from the effects of the Dark Beacon," Puppetmon answered, "In here I have the power of a mega, but out there my strength quickly drains."

"But we can't just leave Sora up there." Takato protested.

"I didn't say we would. You two go through the front door. I'll get Sora down and then the three of you can get out of here while I distract him."

"But what-?" Before Takato could finish Puppetmon had sprung into the air with his mallet drawn and prepared to smash it against Shurimon's head.

"The fool," Shurimon whispered, tossing Sora away.

"Ugh!" Sora twirled through the air helplessly. Fortunately Joe jumped up and caught her: barely. They both stumbled onto the ground, no one worse for wear.

"Let's go!" Joe put Sora on her feet and the four of them bolted through the forest.

"Ugh!" Puppetmon groaned as Shurimon punched him in the gut, knocking him onto a platform of the roof.

"Your sentimentality is your downfall Puppetmon," Shurimon pulled his arms back.

"And your immorality will be yours." The puppet coughed back.

"Double Stars!" Puppetmon swung his shuriken into Puppetmon's gut, killing him.


	3. The Other Side of the Universe

**Chapter Three: Meanwhile, on the Other Side of the Universe**

**Shiokaze Park**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**3:54 P.M: January 11****th****, 2010**

"What was that?" Iori's voice cracked. He was a short boy of 11 years old, with maroon pants, a tan tunic, and a bowl cut of brown hair. His eyes were wide, a reaction to the geyser of water that had stolen Takato, the new girl, and the person he would soon know as Joe Kido.

"I'm guessing the data streams are back up." Izzy said in a stunned voice. "They must be if we're just going back and forth between the digital and human worlds now."

"What was that?" Jeri whined.

"So, the digital world is in trouble again?" Yolei asked rhetorically.

"Crusadermon said that the Dark Beacon was back and new digidestined were wielding it to suppress the digital world." Kari answered.

"We met one of them. He looked maybe 13 or 14 and had a Gaomon." Tai continued.

"And now Takato, that girl, and Joe are all there, defenseless." Izzy wrapped everything up.

"Well they do have the digi-egg," Said Yolei, "But there's no telling when it will hatch or how long it'll take to get to champion or even rookie."

"And with the Royal Knights gone…" Izzy had trouble finishing that statement, "It can only be a matter of time before the rest of our partner Digimon are destroyed: if they haven't been already."

"We need to help them." Tai determined.

"Will somebody please tell us what's going on!?" Iori half yelled and half cried.

"Jeri, Iori," Kari gasped at the sight of her two friends, "What are you doing here?"

"No, answer our questions first please!" Jeri screamed in a shocked voice. "What just happened to Takato?"

"Uh…" Kari was unsure of how to explain.

"He was taken to the digital world." Tai answered for her.

"What does that mean!?" Iori yelled.

"The digital world is another universe, connected to ours by data streams from our computer network passing through wormholes." Izzy answered. "In the digital world live the Digimon, who are creatures of all kingdoms and materials that change form through pent up digital energy in rapid, staged intervals of evolution, like super fast punctuated equilibrium."

Iori and Jeri just stared at the four destined with disbelief and anger.

"No, really, what just happened?" Jeri asked.

* * *

Tai sat on the couch, with his face in his hands, trying desperately to contain his rage. Kari sat next to him void of expression. Yolei was in the kitchen, getting everyone something to drink. Iori and Jeri sat on the second, smaller couch, in a state of confusion. Fortunately while they were gone Mrs. Kamiya had gone out to pick up Tai and Kari's father, whose car broke down. Izzy was downstairs at his apartment getting his laptop. It was better than Tai and Kari's five year old desktop anyways. After trying to use their digivices to open a portal to the digital world (unsuccessfully), everyone had realized that there was nothing more they could do at the park and had returned to Tai's house to regroup.

"So this Destined Key," Iori started, after hearing the tale of the digidestined's first (and to him obviously fake) adventure through the digital world. He didn't want to hear the bull that the older kids felt like feeding him but it was better than just sitting there in silence. "How does it work?"

"No one knows." Tai answered. "Makuramon turns it and digidestined are summoned. But it does have a tendency to choose partners of important Digimon."

"Eight of us destined were Royal Knights." Kari added.

"Right…" Iori replied sarcastically.

"You don't believe us?" Yolei asked rhetorically as she walked back in with a plate of six glasses of ice water.

"No, I-uh…" Iori had a hard time lying.

"It's okay." Tai shrugged. "It's a pretty ridiculous story. If I was you I wouldn't believe it either."

"I just don't understand why you can't tell us what really happened." Jeri protested. "If you don't know, why don't you just tell us?"

"Because we've already told you the truth Jeri," Kari answered angrily. "Takato, Joe, and that girl were all taken to the digital world."

"If you believe that so much then where's your proof?" Iori inquired. The conversation was quickly making the three's friendship deteriorate.

"We don't have any." Tai sighed.

"Do you think maybe you imagined it?" Jeri proposed.

"Do you think all five of us, and the other eight kids who came into the digital world, all imagined it?" Tai barked.

"Don't forget that Izzy and I just moved here randomly, and somehow all ended up living in the same apartment building." Yolei added.

"And Joe's been living in Tokyo this whole time." Kari spoke. "Tokyo's so big it's no wonder we missed his number."

"But it's still amazing all the same."

"I think your definition of amazing is a little different than ours," Iori grumbled, "We might call it conspiracy."

"Iori shut up." Tai barked. Iori, taken aback, fell back into his seat. He didn't realize how seriously the situation was affecting (at least) the three of them.

"You don't have to believe us," Kari growled, "Just go home."

"Something bad happened to Takato," Jeri defended Iori and herself, "We're not leaving until we know he's okay."

"Then either accept what we're telling you," Tai glared, "Or keep to yourselves."

"I'm sorry," Iori mumbled, "I know we're all worried. It's just the things you say happened. They sound so impossible."

"They are." Yolei answered for the two Kamiyas. "But that doesn't make them any less true."

"So who was that girl who was with you?" Tai asked Iori and Jeri.

"I was playing chess in the park," Iori answered, "She was my opponent. When we saw you guys running by we followed. I forgot my chess set and she ran after us with it."

"So that's all that was significant about her?" Tai inquired. "You've never seen her before today?"

"No." Iori shook his head.

"Is there anything else you know about her that might help us figure out who she is, just in case we have to tell her parents some version of what happened?" Yolei inquired.

"Well she's the first person ever to have beaten Iori at chess." Jeri offered hopefully.

"They didn't need to know that." Iori grumbled while gripping his knees angrily.

"No, that might be helpful." Tai protested. "If she's a local prodigy, she might have entered in some tournaments."

"I'll go look up the list." Kari said as she started towards her bedroom.

"Thanks." Tai replied. She went into her and Tai's bedroom (where the computer was stashed) and went to work. They waited, wondering what was taking Izzy so long. Fortunately, Kari came out a few minutes later.

"There are like 50 different chess tourneys in the greater Tokyo area," Kari sighed, "It'll take me hours to look through them all."

"That's alright; we can wait." Tai replied. Then, Izzy came through the door with a laptop under his arm.

"Sorry I'm late." He mumbled.

"What the hell Izzy?" Tai groaned. "Did you need to take that long?"

"I had to get my laptop out of the house without my mother noticing."

"It took you long enough," Yolei grumbled.

"Anyways," Izzy continued," I think I might have found a way to get into contact with the digital world."

"Really!?" Tai jumped out of his seat in excitement. Izzy waved him down, however. He came over to the common area and set his laptop on the coffee table.

"A few years ago, after everything happened, I created an adapter so that I could connect my digivice to my laptop." He explained as he began to set up.

"How does that help us?" Yolei inquired.

"You see, the digivices act as a conduit between ourselves and our Digimon, in essence creating visible wormholes to quickly share our energy with our partners. If we tried to do it either of the natural ways it wouldn't be effective at all."

"What are the natural ways?" Yolei inquired.

"Heat and meat." Izzy responded. Yolei thought for a second and then gulped.

"The same type of wormholes that connect the human and digital worlds?" Tai asked hopefully.

"That's what I was thinking," Izzy answered, bringing up a particular program on his computer, "But when I tested it a few years ago, nothing worked. I couldn't connect to the digital world and the digivice didn't give any sort of reaction at all."

"But a few years ago the data streams were probably still down," Said Kari, which is why it wouldn't have worked. Right?"

"Precisely: that was my deduction as well." Izzy then plugged his digivice into a small adapter and then plugged the adapter into his computer. "But I had no idea of knowing when or even if the data streams would ever come back up. But now that they obviously have, I should be able to get connected."

"Izzy that's great!" The other three digidestined cheered. Iori and Jeri just sat with skeptical looks on their faces.

"I know." He said proudly. "Now what I have here is a special search engine a friend of mine created. Among other things, I can narrow down the search parameters to only the Odaiba area, specifically around Shiokaze park."

"What will you be searching for?" Tai inquired.

"Hot spots," Izzy answered, "Connections to the internet via Wi-Fi that should tell us if we have a wormhole to the digital world. I also have a second search running at the same time that will search for the Factory Mark domain name."

"But how will we know which hot spot is a connection to the digital world?" Tai inquired.

"That's where the digivice comes in," Said Izzy, tapping his divice, "It should try and establish a connection to our Digimon once I activate it, creating a wormhole to the digital world."

"From right here?" Kari exclaimed.

"Essentially." Izzy nodded.

"But how will we be able to get through it?" Tai inquired. "The digivices can only transport energy, right?"

"By themselves, yes. But my computer's processor and power supply should give it an extra boost to create a larger wormhole: one that we can use to go to the digital world."

"What's Factory Mark?" Yolei asked.

"It's the address on an e-mail I got in the digital world." Izzy answered her. "We think it's correlated to the digital world somehow."

"If we're going to make a portal to the digital world right now, shouldn't we try it somewhere else more… inconspicuous?" Tai asked as Izzy plugged his computer into the wall for added measure.

"This is only a trial run. We need to make sure we can do it and that it'll lead to the digital world -in a non-harmful way- before we can go through ourselves."

"Alright then, let's start it already!" Yolei urged.

"The computer's running the search." Izzy answered. "I'll turn on the digivice when it's done." Izzy answered. They waited another minute and sighed with relief when a beep of the console indicated the search was finished. Izzy viewed the results. "There are two wireless signals in Shiokaze park." Izzy examined. "Let's see if one leads us to the digital world." He pressed the lone button on his digivice. They held their breaths for a second as nothing happened, and then sighed with relief again when the device crackled with static.

"It's working!" Kari cheered.

"Izzy, if GoldenRapidmon is gone, then what'll happen to the connection when it can't find him?" Yolei asked rather insensitively.

"GoldenRapidmon isn't gone," Izzy replied, "He's a digi-egg."

"Can a digivice give energy to a digi-egg?" Tai inquired. "Mine sure couldn't."

"It doesn't have to," Izzy replied, "But it will try as hard as it can: long enough to form a useable pathway."

"Um, guys…" Kari brought everyone's attention to the computer screen. It was shining a bright light: lighter than anything a laptop should have ever given off.

"Is the portal opening?" Tai asked excitedly.

"I think it is!" Izzy suppressed his excitement. Off to the side, Iori and Jeri saw the increasingly bright light and walked over to the screen to investigate.

"Woah," Jeri gasped as she could see the light intensifying to a point that was too intense for them to stare at anymore. But that was just the beginning. As soon as she and Iori were facing the screen, white exploded out of the screen and engulfed the room, causing everybody to shield their eyes.

"What's happening?" Kari cried as the light began to burn their corneas.

"The wormhole," Izzy started, "I didn't realize it would be this-oof!" And then the light was gone. Izzy's digivice and the adapter popped out of the laptop and thumped against his head, startling him. Everyone opened their eyes to witness what had happened.

"Why do new things have to keep happening? Is a little consistency too much to ask for?" Tai gasped.

"My computer!" Izzy cried with the most emotion anyone had ever heard come from him. They watched with pity as he ran over to the overheated, melted mess that used to be his laptop.

"The wormhole must have been too much for it." Yolei suggested. "I guess you'll need a better power supply."

"Um… Tai, Kari… what just happened?" Iori shook in his shoes from anxiety.

"We just opened a gate to the digital world. It didn't last, but we did it." Tai shrugged.

"No, that's not what he means." Jeri gasped. "This." She urged their attention, and three of the digidestined turned to the two pre-teens to see that they were now holding (besides the color) identical objects. Two digi-eggs, one yellow and one light blue, were now in Iori and Jeri's arms, respectively, with a modified digivice and a crest hanging from each one of them.

"Well would you look at that." Tai almost laughed. "The skeptics are digidestined too."

"How-what-they-they just came out of the computer!" Iori gaped. "How is that possible?"

"According to you two, it's not." Yolei gave a triumphant stare.

"Why…?" Izzy groaned as he picked at the remains of his computer, oblivious to those behind him. Trying to salvage any intact component, he cautiously swept away the melted LCD screen with a fragment of the keyboard. "Oh thank you…" He whispered to the computer gods as he shoved a few pieces of cover away, "The hard drive is still intact." He immediately pulled out a small screwdrive he had hidden and went to work unscrewing his precious information.

"Hey Izzy, would you like to see the fruits of your labors?" Kari asked the boy.

"Yeah yeah, Iori and Jeri are digidestined, big surprise." He mumbled. His concerns lied elsewhere.

* * *

**Matsuki Residence**

**Shinjuku Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**5:00 P.M: January 11****th****, 2009**

Kairo Matsuki stared intensely at the computer screen, in the dark, contemplating the issue at hand. His machine, a marvel of science and technology, was suffering from an annoyingly unnecessary technical problem; it kept overheating. He had run countless diagnostic tests to no avail. The heat sink, power supply, all of it was in prime operating condition. He could only contemplate one problem that he hadn't run a test for, and it was an unfortunate one.

A creek outside his door made Kairo's heart thump. He lunged out of his chair and tossed a large blanket over the ring shaped machine. He didn't need his parents to see the device. He had a lie planned out just in case they found it: any number of American television shows would provide a good cover; but he didn't want to take the chance. After all, his father liked to build models; why shouldn't he, even though they were life sized and fully functional.

But he needn't have worried. Another creek signaled that whoever was outside his door was leaving, keeping his project safe from discovery. With a sigh of relief, he pulled the blanket off of his device, admiring his own cunning and ingenuity. At first it had started out as a series of mirrors positioned around his room, reflecting a data stream off of each other to form the gateway. But after six months, he had collected enough materials to condense it into one human sized open iris ring: a sight one might only see in a western nation's military base.

Now that might all collapse, if he couldn't isolate and remove the problem afflicting his ring. He had spent all of the money he had: the allowances he had been saving since he first started getting them, as well as money he got helping people around the neighborhood (and lately money that those same people didn't even know they had given him) to get the parts for his miraculous machine. He couldn't let it die now, not when he was so close.

Kairo dragged his tool case out again, switching on the light switch. He shut off the connection to his machine, barring it from functioning, and then went to work. Unscrewing the box that held the device's main mechanical systems, Kairo rifled through the tubes and modules of the mechanical operations to get to the real heart of his ring: the CPU. Originally run by his computer, Kairo had finally been able to afford a second computer, which he had built into the device, so it could run itself.

He still needed the computer, however, to direct the operation of the device from his end. But those on the other end could contact him, and a light would flash and beep on the ring, telling Kairo that somebody wanted through. A button next to that would allow said person entry. A screen sat below those, ready to interpret any messages from someone wishing to appear on the other side. Unfortunately with their current technology communication between his device and others could only be conducted through Morse code, so Kairo had added a program in the CPU that would translate it to Japanese.

Of course, that posed a problem as Kairo had to be in his room constantly when somebody needed to use the device, forcing either him or his ally Junpei to stay here while the other operated from afar. Fortunately, Kairo had begun a project to build a remote access to the ring. It wasn't that difficult a task: he and his allies already had devices to communicate with his ring: all he had to do was find a way to program a remote into them.

It was an easy project for Kairo, whose technological marvels were nothing short of: (according to him) godlike. Those Western military facilities would love to have him on staff. Unfortunately he had to abandon the project for now to solve the technical failure he was experiencing. An overheating machine was no excuse to prohibit Kairo from his work. If only he could have taken his frustration out on somebody: but alas, he was stuck here, in his room, struggling to fix the problem that was making him want to hurt somebody: irony or tragedy, Kairo could never figure out which was which.

Another creek outside his door made Kairo freeze. He had to convince himself not to jump up and conceal the ring. They wouldn't open his door. The people outside his room had long stopped caring what Kairo did. His mother, his father, even his not so distant relatives who live only a short way away near Tokyo Bay, none of them gave a damn about Kairo Matsuki. And that suited him just fine. He didn't care about them either. Really, he didn't.

Kairo Matsuki could care less about his family. He didn't know if it was the years of constant nagging with his mother and father, or the dark needle that had pricked him some time ago. Whichever it was, he didn't care, and that was fine with him. He was right anyway. As those thoughts raced through his head within a few seconds, the person on the other side of his door stepped away. Alas, the inconvenience of residing in a room right next to a broom closet. He went back to work.

Then, a beep on the console indicated that somebody wanted through. Kairo rolled his eyes, annoyed to be interrupted in the middle of his work. However he couldn't leave the person on the other side waiting. He quickly wrapped up his work, repairing all the disconnections he had made to make another futile attempt at finding a solvable solution to the overheating problem, careful not to make any mistakes. He then closed the console and checked the text screen.

It was Junpei. He needed through, and he looked to be in a mood judging by the obscene messages he was sending through. Kairo rolled his eyes yet again and pressed the button above the screen, activating the gate. Seven lasers then shot out of the inner surface of the ring, converging on one point before melting into a sheet of plasma-like material. Kairo then reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, popping them open and slipping them on his head just as an immensely bright light protruded from the ring. That was another problem he had to fix.

A shadow appeared in the middle of the ring, and a second later a heavy set teen jumped through, rolling onto the floor as the transport from the digital world to the real one was a little rough. Still another problem with the machine. _Maybe I'm not such a genius after all_, Kairo thought for a fleeting second. _Nah_, he reconsidered. The light from the machine then came to an abrupt end as the portal to the digital world evaporated, allowing Kairo to slip off his sunglasses and readjust himself to the lighting.

"Crap…" Junpei, or J.P. for short, grumbled as he stumbled to his feet.

"What is it?" Kairo cocked his head in mock interest.

"We've got a huge problem." J.P. answered in a growl, causing actual (albeit little) concern on the digidestined of ethic's face.


	4. A Hard Act to Follow

**Chapter Four: A Hard Act to Follow**

In typical digidestined fashion, they had been walking for hours: three, at the least. Takato was starting to think that the forest was never-ending, and Puppetmon had sent them on a fool's errand.

"We should be out of these woods very soon." Joe then said, filling Sora with relief and Takato with skepticism.

"Are you sure about that?" Takato grumbled.

"Very sure," Joe answered, but with a dark undertone. "There should be a village up ahead where we can rest too: if it's still there." The prospect of Shichiri Village being obliterated scared the hell out of him: but not as much as the time span it had been since he had last been there: only four years. To those less knowledgeable, there would seem to be no problem with that fact. But to Joe, the fact that only four years had passed in the digital world since he had been there last, four years ago Earth time, terrified him. Those thoughts were about to be displaced, however: by worse ones.

"Is that the village?" Sora pointed to a wooden wall in the distance.

"Yes it is." Joe smiled, relieved. As the four arrived at the wall, however, a problem identified itself. For the wall was not a wall at all, but only a short expansion of it. The rest of the wall had been laid to waste: burned to cinders by whoever had come through before. The four solemnly walked around the short expanse of wall to the other side, where they saw the rest of the city flattened by flames and some sort of physical destruction.

"No…" Joe dropped to his knees. He had neglected to ask Puppetmon what had become of Shichiri village, but when they left he had hoped for the best. Emotions ripped through him as he mourned the loss of the citizens of the city as well as the guilt trip that brought him back to the time when he was controlled by the dark needle, and had also attempted to destroy the village.

"Are you okay Joe?" Sora knelt down and set her hand on the teen's shoulder. She already knew the answer, but felt it appropriate to ask anyway.

"Yeah, it's just… there were a lot of good Digimon in this village. I hope they made it out okay."

"I'm sure they did," Sora comforted, "But we should keep moving. We don't want the likes of Shurimon to find us."

"Right: let's go. The exit out of the woods is right this way." Joe then persevered on, leading the group to the edge of the forest where it met a massive desert. Two beaten paths that had not been there before were now visible. One led a ways across the desert to what Joe knew was the river. The other curved around the forest to what he figured was the east coast of the continent (and the ocean), parallel to Server's river.

"Which way do we go?" Takato pondered.

"Puppetmon said that both of them lead to the port, so it doesn't matter right?" Sora asked rhetorically.

"Except there was something else Puppetmon was about to say, and he never finished." Joe sighed.

"How important do you think it is that we choose the right path?" Takato asked.

"I don't think he would have brought it up it weren't."

"So what do we do?"

"Well we have no idea of knowing which path is the right one and no way of knowing what the problem is with the other path." Joe contemplated the situation.

"We could split up," Sora suggested, "Two of us take one path while the other takes the other. If we find any trouble on the trail we're on we go back and go back up the other path, meeting the other party at the end."

"Is it a good idea to separate though?" Takato inquired. "That's a desert out there: not very traveler friendly. And if we were to run into trouble we'd have no way to contact each other. Not to mention the lack of resources, and who knows how long it takes to get across."

"It only takes a few days to get across the Server desert," Joe replied, "And each path follows a body of water: an ocean and a river. There'll be plenty of food and water on each trail. As for the communication, your digivices can contact each other. I don't have mine, so I'd have to stay with one of you. And as for getting into trouble: I know my way around this part of the continent like the back of my hand, and I have a few friends that if they're still around would help us. And Puppetmon told me that the Dark Beacon is only affecting champion level Digimon and higher, so Guilmon could defend us if necessary."

"That's right! Do what now?" Guilmon asked obliviously.

"So it looks like me and Joe will have to go down one path, and Guilmon and Takato will go down the other." Sora determined.

"Um, I'm not thrilled with that plan." Takato whined. "Couldn't we all just go down one path and if it doesn't pan out we could go down the other?"

"The only problem with that is if we went down one path and found that there was a problem with it," Joe started, "We would have to double back and come all the way back here to get to the other one. If we separate, then by using the digivices we can get a signal from one another," Joe pointed to the small screen on Sora's digivice, "And cut right across the desert. It'd only take two of us half the time instead of all four of us the whole time."

"It's just-"

"Oh stop it Takato." Sora walked over to the boy and dropped her hands onto his shoulders. "Stop being wary and depressing and sad. When I get sad, I stop being sad and get awesome instead: okay?" She pushed him forward, towards the right path that led to the river, grabbed the digi-egg she had set down, and started off towards the ocean path. "Are you coming Joe?"

"You know that's from a T.V. show, right Sora?" Takato called after her.

"It doesn't make it any less true!" Sora waved at him from afar, already bolting down the path with eccentricity.

"If you run into anything, just hold down the button on your digivice until you see a dot on the screen!" Joe called to him. "That's our position. Tap it and it'll open communications with us!"

"What a weird girl." Takato mumbled.

"Don't worry Takato," Guilmon smiled as he pushed Takato along, "I won't let Shurimon hurt you."

"I'm less worried about that and more worried about getting lost in the desert." Takato sighed, taking a look at his digivice. "Wait," Takato turned around and called to the two destined that were already very far away from them, "Joe, this thing has two buttons!"

* * *

It had only taken them an hour to get to the coast. Joe and Sora were looking down the sheer cliff face of the desert, down at the ocean waves crashing against the cliff wall below.

"Most of the continent is surrounded by sheer cliffs instead of beaches," Joe explained. "Needless to say it's not a great vacation spot."

"So how are we supposed to get any water if it's all down there?" Sora asked as they carried on down the beaten sand.

"There are a few peninsulas along this coast that aren't covered in cliffs," Joe answered, "The land there is fertile and fruit bearing plants grow on them."

"And water?" Sora inquired.

"There's a small village not too far down," Joe nodded forward, "It's too small and insignificant to be on anyone's radar."

"Oh, good." They continued walking for a while.

"So, who did you fight?" Sora inquired of Joe after half an hour of walking.

"I'm sorry?" Joe responded, confused.

"Four years ago, when you came here before: who was trying to, um… take over, or destroy, or… well what exactly happened? Puppetmon didn't really explain a lot to us. He said a Digimon named Apocalymon tried to conquer the digital world, but he made it sound like there was more than that."

"Well, there was a Digimon named Devimon," Joe answered, "He was working for Apocalymon. Both of them had died by the hands of two groups named the Olympians and the Royal Knights: Devimon used to be a member of the Knights but he betrayed them. But the digital world had six different planes of… existence I guess, or dimensions, I don't know. But and one of them is called the dark plane, where evil Digimon go when they die. Devimon found a way out and then created enough chaos to create a gate and free Apocalymon. But at the last minute Devimon, by that time Piedmon, reconciled with the Royal Knights and had sacrificed himself to destroy Apocalymon again."

"That sounds like it was kind of pointless." Sora observed. "He freed Apocalymon and then just destroyed him again?"

"Well Apocalymon had somebody else working with him, somebody that we never knew the identity of, who was helping him as well. Piedmon was just one of many pawns in Apocalymon's scheme and if it weren't for him Apocalymon would have just chosen somebody else: somebody who didn't have the potential to realign with the knights."

"But couldn't he just come back again?" Sora inquired.

"Piedmon combined himself with Apocalymon and partially took over his body. Apocalymon doesn't really exist anymore, and if he does he doesn't have the power to come back."

"That kind of sounds like wishful thinking to me." Sora said skeptically. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe the digital world is in trouble again because Apocalymon is back?"

"That's been one of my biggest worries since I got here. We didn't really have time to make sure Apocalymon was gone for good last time: the data streams that connect the human and digital worlds were falling apart and we had to get home as quick as possible."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's all right."

"What else is bothering you?" She asked rather invasively.

"You have plenty of questions don't you?"Joe groaned.

"Well should I not?" Sora waved an arm at the ocean as a symbol of the digital world.

"I guess not." Joe sighed. "I'm mainly worried about my partner: Gomamon. When I had to leave he didn't have the ability to digivolve to mega, making him more vulnerable than the others. I need to know if he's alive or not."

"Puppetmon didn't know?"

"No, he didn't. But the way the digital world works is every atom of matter's electric signature corresponds to a bit of data: zeros and ones. So Digimon can't die. They come back as digi-eggs."

"So that's good right?"

"Digimon also have something called a digi-core: a metaphysical sphere of some sort that holds their emotions, personality, and soul. Another Digimon can absorb a digi-core and become stronger, effectively killing the Digimon. They may still be alive, but they don't truly exist anymore."

"Oh."

"Most Digimon don't bother with that because digi-cores escape so fast, but a really determined Digimon can get one if he really wants it."

"Which brings you to…" Sora could read between the lines of Joe's worries.

"The evil digidestined: They're really zealous."

"Ah." She said solemnly. "How does a digidestined become evil anyway?"

"Well the way Devimon did it was by taking a piece of his darkness and forging a needle out of it, which he then struck digidestined with, turning them evil. The only way to free an evil digidestined would be to purge the dark needle from them somehow. But I don't know how these new digidestined have become evil: or whether or not they weren't evil to begin with."

"So why do you think these new evil digidestined were called here?"

"Likely for the same reason that you were: to save the digital world from whatever evil had emerged: but that evil probably, like Devimon, figured out how to take control of a digidestined and did so before those kids knew what was happening. The only reason you and Takato haven't been taken over yet is probably because they don't realize you're here: and they won't until Shurimon gets back with that information."

"But by that time we should be at File Island, right?"

"Hopefully."

"Well in the meantime at least we can get some supplies." Sora pointed forward and indicated at the small village that could be seen in the distance.

"I hope it's still there." Joe moaned, and the two quickened their pace. They arrived at the village to breathe a sigh of relief that it was full of life. Some fishermen where weary to see a pair of humans at first, but Joe was easily able to explain themselves and they were welcomed into the village. The fishermen then directed them to the market, where they planned on buying the two humans some water and sustenance for their journey.

"Joe," Sora said to the older tamer as the two Ponchomon looked through the merchandise (which was primarily composed of seafood, but held some poultry as well) to find something edible and preserve-able for the two humans.

"Yeah Sora?" Joe looked to her.

"There were evil digidestined four years ago right? Who were they, and did you save them?" She asked with concern. Joe looked down and pushed the dirt around with his shoe, suppressing the guilt that was about to regurgitate with his answer.

"I was one of the evil digidestined." He answered her solemnly.

"Oh." Sora's eyes widened.

"Along with Yolei, the girl from the boardwalk with the purple hair. We were tainted by the dark needle and forced to do Devimon's bidding until Tai, Kari, Izzy, Rika, T.K., and Eric purged the dark needles."

"How many of you were there?" Sora asked cautiously.

"There were eight of us," Joe began, "Yolei and I, Zoe, Kazu, Koichi, Ken, Matt, and…" Joe's mind stalled. "Nevermind, we were only seven. I got confused."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring up a sore memory."

"No, it's okay." Joe replied. "I never forget anyway, you just had me talk about it. It's actually helpful really. Up until now I've never had anybody else with knowledge about the digital world to have a decent conversation with."

"What about Tai, Izzy, and those other girls?"

"I had no idea they lived in Tokyo. I had only wandered over to them half a minute or so before you and your friends, and then Tai, Kari, and Takato, showed up."

"But you live in Odaiba: it's not that big of a place you know."

"I don't live in Odaiba," Joe answered, "I live in Kanagawa. I was just in Odaiba for the afternoon."

"Hey, you two," One of the Ponchomon addressed the digidestined, "Where are you headed?"

"The port city, on the south coast." Joe answered.

"Ah-hah, I figured as much." The Ponchomon, an armor Digimon that resembled a cactus with a face, fedora, and of course poncho, said. "Come with me." He walked them down to the cliffs, where a well constructed staircase led down to a dock. On that dock was a motor boat. "I was going to go down to the port city in a few days, but I can get you down there now."

"Really? That would be great!" Joe cheered. "So there's no sort of evil digidestined outpost or anything along this route?"

"Of course not. Shurimon and his kin don't really bother with the south-east coast. They don't even know we are over here, and if they do they don't care."

"Oh, that's great." Joe sighed with relief. "Sora, contact Takato and tell him we've found the right path. Sir," He turned to the Ponchomon, "Our friend is a few hours away. Would you mind if we were to wait for him?"

"It's going to start getting dark in a few hours anyway. We'll have to wait for the morning."

"Um, Joe," Sora addressed the teen, "Which button am I supposed to use?"

"What?" Joe turned around in confusion, examining the digivice. "There are two?" There were. "We only had one. You must have an updated version. Just try one."

"But what if one of them does something bad?"

"It's your digivice; it wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"Alright then." Sora shrugged and tapped the left button on her device. Then, the egg held up in her right hand began to glow: brightly. "Egh!" She panicked, and placed the egg down. "Why is it doing that?"

"It's hatching." Joe answered. Then the egg cracked open and a small, white, and furry creature rolled out. A ball just like the jari creature, this one had long fur that made its bottom look like a broom, as well as long triangular ears with red tips. Its eyes were wide and black, and its mouth was barely visible under the fur.

"What is it?" Sora inquired.

"pafu, pafu," The Digimon bounced up and down at the sight of Sora, and then lunged into her arms, "pafu…"

"It's a Pafumon." The Ponchomon determined.

* * *

"Ugh," Takato groaned as he trekked alongside the river, going in his opinion nowhere, "I'm not big on this walking long distances thing."

"Why? Walking is fun." Guilmon argued.

"How do you figure that?" Takato groaned tiredly.

"Because I've never done it before," He answered to Takato's disdain.

"Well there are a lot of things you've never done before. How about torture: would you find that fun?"

"I don't know what torture is: is it some kind of food?" Takato, irritated, explained as delicately as he could. "Well that doesn't sound fun at all." Guilmon responded.

"But you've never done it before. So by your logic, it should be fun."

"But it doesn't sound fun."

"Guilmon are we going to keep going in circles like this?"

"I thought we were walking in a straight line." Guilmon asked obliviously.

"Agh!" Takato dropped to his knees in frustration.

"I was just kidding Takato," Guilmon said, "I know what you meant."

"Thank you." Takato cried.

"Takato what's wrong?" Guilmon moaned confusingly.

"This is torture…" The boy whispered as he got back up and started walking.

"Oh, so this is what torture is?" Guilmon cocked his head. "It doesn't seem that bad. It feels like a game!"

"Guilmon there are many levels of torture." Takato spat out.

"You sound really irritable." Guilmon replied.

"How can you know what irritable means but not torture?"

"I don't know. Most things just sound like food to me: but I haven't eaten since we were with Puppetmon." Guilmon's comment made Takato's eyes widen as an ugly truth dawned on him.

"I haven't eaten since lunch: six hours ago." A rumbling echoed out of the tamer's stomach.

"I guess we both need some food." Guilmon determined. "Oh, look!" He cheered at the sight of a tropical-like tree growing on the river bank a few hundred yards ahead of them. Clearly visible were some yellowish fruits hanging from the tree. With stomachs driving them forward, the pair darted for the tree, arriving at it in record time. Guilmon scrambled up the trunk and knocked down a few pieces of fruit.

"Well it's not a cheeseburger but it'll do." Takato sighed with happiness as he bit into the fruit. "Agh!" He choked at the awful taste of the fruit. "This is horrible!"

"Wh.t .r. y.. .ng .b..t?" Guilmon mumbled with a mouthful of fruit. He had knocked down five pieces and three of them were already gone. Takato sighed. There was nothing he could do; it was probably the only food for miles. The Matsuki reluctantly chomped down on the fruit, holding back his gag reflex as best as he could. After he was finished with both pieces, they lapped up some water from the river, and then continued onwards.

"That was the most awful thing I've ever put in my mouth." Takato groaned as he let his jaw hang open, hoping some cold air would wash away what the water didn't.

"Was that torture for you?" Guilmon asked.

"No Guilmon, it wasn't torture." Takato replied, but Guilmon wasn't listening. Takato turned to his partner to see that the normally passive Digimon was now staring in front of them growling. His pupils were dilated to extreme measures. "What's wrong Guilmon?"

"There's something up there." The Digimon answered. Takato looked forward but was oblivious to what his partner was seeing. All that he saw was desert. Then he realized that dust was obstructing his view. As it faded away, a large white building way off in the distance came into view. Takato couldn't tell what it was, but he could make out a large black tower in the center of it.

"What is it?" Takato inquired.

"Nothing good." Guilmon growled.

"Do you think this is the path Puppetmon didn't want us to take?"

"We should turn around." Guilmon answered ahead of Takato.

"Okay." Takato pivoted on a foot and turned to the direction they had come from, with Guilmon following suit. "AGH!" They were too late, however, as Shurimon was now standing in front of them, backed by a small unit of other humanoid Digimon.

"Child and dog," The Shurimon spoke to them, "You are foolish for wondering into the river territory. But as long as you have, I will not miss the opportunity to extinguish you from this place!" Shurimon pulled his arms back.

"Run!" Guilmon dove under Takato, throwing the boy onto his back, and then dashed away from the group of armor Digimon down the river.

"You shall not escape me this time! The masters have ordered your deaths!" Shurimon and the four Digimon behind him ran forward with incredible speed, but fortunately Guilmon was faster. With incredible speed (even more incredible since he was carrying Takato who was his own weight) he dove into the building a ways away from the river, which the two could now identify as some sort of Roman Coliseum. Unfortunately, as soon as they arrived Guilmon realized his mistake. The building was filled with humanoid Digimon of all different sorts. Each of them had the same bloodlust in their eyes that Shurimon had.

"Crap." Takato gaped.

"Ah, so foolish." Shurimon appeared behind them and shook his head. "You fell right into my trap."

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon threw Takato off of his back and fired a blast at Shurimon, who knocked it away with ease. The five Digimon then pounced on Guilmon and Takato.

* * *

Takato and Guilmon now stood strapped to the massive black obelisk in the middle of the Coliseum as a hoard of armor Digimon stared at them judgmentally. "Boy, dog," Shurimon began a speech, "The masters Junpei and Kairo have deemed you neither worthy of receiving the dark needle nor living in general. Therefore I will now sever your heads from your body and dispose of them in an orderly fashion."

"What did we ever do to you?" Takato whined as he struggled to free himself from the imprisonment.

"You believe us to be fools?" Shurimon barked. "Do not deny that you are in partnership with Puppetmon, and were not called by the Royal Knights to be digidestined and stop our glorious masters from exacting their rule and rightful revenge!"

"I was brought here but I don't work with anyone!" Takato argued. "I'm just trying to get back home!"

"And you attacked Takato first." Guilmon growled.

"You have a digivice!" Shurimon yelled. "You are a digidestined and are plotting against us, and for that you shall die!" Shurimon slammed his shuriken blade at Takato's head.

"AGH!" Takato ducked, narrowly avoiding death, as the blade slammed into the dark tower he was tied to. The armor Digimon didn't notice, but a surge of energy pulsed through the tower due to the attack, singeing Takato and Guilmon's back. Shurimon yanked his blade out before it could affect him.

"You fool, making me damage the Obelisk!" Shurimon growled.

"Do you not understand the repercussions of damaging it?" One of the humanoids, a ninja-like creature by the name of Yasyamon, complained. "Without this tower the Dark Beacon will not function!"

"Really?" Takato asked half-excitedly.

"What is wrong with you?" Shurimon turned to the soldier. "Are you so stupid you would really reveal the secret of the Dark Spire? AGH!" Shurimon slashed his shuriken at the Yasyamon and decapitated him. He faded away into a mess of data seconds later.

"Ayah!" Takato jumped as the Digimon disappeared. "What happened to him?"

"You really don't know much do you?" Shurimon cocked his head at them. "That is what happens to all Digimon when they die. Our bodies disintegrate into data particles upon our death." Takato heard him, but he couldn't react.

"Takato: I've got this." Guilmon growled. "Pyro Sphere!" He pointed to his left, towards a bare patch of the rope that was binding them, and fired. It burned the ropes to a cinder allowing Guilmon to leap forward towards Shurimon.

"Damn!" Shurimon struck at Guilmon, but the Digimon wasn't attacking. He instead bounced off of the monster's head and started running up the façade of the tower, using his momentum to keep going. Shurimon followed, using his shuriken to support himself. He chased Guilmon up the face of the tower, slashing at the raptor violently. "Get back here!"

"No!" Guilmon yelled back. He reached the top of the tower, resting at the convergence point of all four sides, while Shurimon arrived at the top.

"Die fool!" Shurimon slammed his shuriken down at Guilmon, expecting he'd have nowhere to go. But Guilmon had other ideas. He flipped over, diving down the back of the tower as Shurimon was helpless to stop himself as he smacked his blade into the tower and sliced the top into two halves. "No!"

Guilmon dropped his feet against the side of the pyramid, using it as friction to slow his descent. It worked to a certain extent, allowing him to drop onto the ground relatively unharmed. He arrived just in time to block the group of armor Digimon that was closing in on Takato.

"Guilmon what did you do?" Takato inquired.

"I took care of these guys." Guilmon growled in response.

"I will kill you ya little fool!" Shurimon dropped down from the tower and prepared to attack Guilmon.

"Are you ready?"Guilmon asked Takato.

"Ready for what?" Takato replied.

"Just hold onto my back." Guilmon instructed. Takato did so warily, latching onto the rookie's shoulders in confusion.

"Nothing will save you from my wrath now!" Shurimon was almost on top of them. But it didn't matter. First a dying sound whirred from the tower. Then a bright light burst out of Takato's digivice and engulfed the raptor.

**"Guilmon digivolve to… Growlmon!"** Growlmon grew exponentially in size. He didn't change much in appearance. The only difference was that brow ridge grew into horns and a white mane dropped down the back of his head. But still, he was about 15 feet tall, almost three times the size of all the armor Digimon in the stadium.

"Pyro Blaster!" Growlmon tilted his head up and fired at Shurimon, who curled into a ball to defend himself. He flew off to the side and landed in the midst of the other armor Digimon, who were busy being stunned by Growlmon.

"Well that'll be hard to follow." Shurimon stumbled to the ground and grumbled. However Growlmon wasn't done. He charged forward, knocking the other armor Digimon out of the way, and rammed Shurimon with his head. Shurimon flew into the air, crashing into the seats of the coliseum on the far side.

"Let's get out of here!" Growlmon bolted to the exit as Takato struggled to keep hold of his partner and not hyperventilate from the fear of what was happening. Growlmon smashed through the small door and took off through the desert, towards the east.

"Ow…" Shurimon pulled his head out of the rubble and massaged his temple. "Oh, the masters shall be rather pissed."


	5. If Not By Land, Then By Sea

**Chapter Five: If Not by Land Then by Sea**

Growlmon ran for the coast. He didn't care about the specific heading. All he knew was that Joe and Sora were at the coast and a hoard of dangerous Digimon were behind them. Growlmon had to make sure to maintain his speed so that Shurimon's soldiers didn't catch up with him, for he was sure they were following him. However once the adrenaline started to die down, Growlmon's lone passenger began to experience some problems.

"AGH!" Takato gripped his head as the panic of the situation began to set in. Growlmon slowed down quickly and dropped Takato off of his back and spoke to the boy in the same innocent voice of Guilmon.

"Takato, what's wrong?" Growlmon cocked his head at Takato, who had an absolute look of terror on his face. Growlmon didn't realize it but that look of terror was directed towards his truly.

"You're… so big!" Takato suppressed his hyperventilation.

"Yeah, so, what's wrong with that?" Growlmon inquired.

"I just-when you digivolved at first- you were larger- but you were small and my size and- now you're a freaking tyrannosaurus!"

"You're losing me Takato." Growlmon groaned.

"I… don't know what I'm talking about." Takato calmed down.

"Are you scared of me?" Growlmon whined suspiciously.

"Er- no- maybe- yeah I'm terrified." Takato finally decided.

"Well that's silly, come on." Growlmon turned around, used his tail to throw Takato back onto his shoulders, and then started off towards the coast again. "There's no need to be scared of me Takato, I wouldn't hurt you."

"That doesn't make you any less intimidating." Takato replied relatively calmly.

"I'm sorry. Next time I'll just sit on the sidelines and let us die."

"You're very funny." Takato growled.

"I am? I was being serious." Growlmon replied sincerely.

"You're an odd one, you know that?"

"That's what you keep telling me."

"You don't have to sit on the sidelines and let us die next time, okay?"

"Hey look, a town on the coast." Growlmon blocked out Takato's statement.

"Did you hear me Guilmon-er-Growlmon?"

"I wonder if they'll have food there. I'm hungry." Growlmon, still oblivious to Takato's concerns, marched into the small town and immediately sniffed out Sora.

"Ayah!" Sora cringed when she turned around to see a huge red dinosaur sniffing her. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Why does everyone keep thinking I'm going to hurt them?" Growlmon asked offended. Sora, confused, looked up at the big red Digimon and, coupled with his voice, recognized the shape and form.

"Guilmon?" She asked in awe.

"Actually it's Growlmon now. Takato is here too." He ducked his head, revealing the tamer.

"Hey Sora. What's that?" He waved and then pointed to the white puff ball in the elbow of Sora's arm.

"This is Pafumon: it hatched from the digi-egg." She held the tiny Digimon up for Takato and Growlmon to see, who was staring at the giant dinosaur curiously. "I'm guessing you guys ran into some trouble then huh?"

"You could say that." Takato sighed as he slipped off of Growlmon's back and walked up to Sora.

"We were just about to contact you when this little guy hatched. Joe went with our new friend Ponchomon to find him some food." Sora explained.

"You didn't get me any food when I first hatched Takato." Growlmon complained.

"We were being attacked by Shurimon, there wasn't a lot I could do." Takato defended himself, irritated.

"So good news: we found a boat to the port city." Said Sora.

"Couldn't we just take that boat to File Island then?" Takato inquired.

"Ponchomon says it's too small to make it to File Island." She replied.

"Sora have you seen the boat? Because I don't think Growlmon will be able to fit on any fishing boat." He turned to his partner, who instead of being a hulking tyrannosaur sized Digimon was now back to his raptor sized Guilmon. "Ayah!" He flinched.

"What? Am I scarier like this than Growlmon? Because I would prefer to be Growlmon." Guilmon commented.

"Just, warn me before you do that again." Takato grumbled.

"Takato?" Joe walked out of the cottage with a bowl of powdered food, which he handed to Sora to feed to the baby Pafumon. "You certainly got here fast." Takato responded by explaining what had just happened as best as he could.

"So, they broadcast the Dark Beacon through those towers huh?" Joe had a contemplative look on his face. "This could work for us. If they need these towers to emit their control, then by destroying them we could really undermine the evil digidestined."

"Did you not just here me?" Takato was still dwelling on other parts of his adventure. Guilmon dropped his eyes, not wanting to get blamed for scaring Takato. "There's probably a force of 50 something armor Digimon on its way here right now." Guilmon's ears perked up while a look of horror became plastered on Joe's face.

"Oh, well we should leave." Sora moaned.

"I'll tell Ponchomon," Said Joe, "Sora take Takato and Guilmon to the boat. We'll meet you there!" He ran into the cottage.

"Come on!" Sora grabbed Takato's shirt sleeve with her free hand and ran off to the east side of the village, with Guilmon close behind. It only took them a minute to arrive at the boathouse/stairwell that was built into the side of the cliff. The three quickly walked down the steps and arrived at a small skiff with (to Takato's surprise) a motor installed onto the back. The three then piled into the six seat vehicle (with Guilmon taking up two of them) and awaited the arrival of Joe and Ponchomon. Needless to say, the pair piled down the stairs five minutes later and scrambled into the boat.

"Sorry we're late; we had to warn the other villagers before we left." Joe said as he leaped between Takato and Sora behind Ponchomon.

"I'm sorry I led them here." Takato apologized.

"It's okay," Ponchomon replied as he started the water vehicle, "The evil tamers are trying to take over the world. It was bound to happen sometime: might as well be now." With that, the boat started up and Ponchomon accelerated out of the docks, southbound down the east coast.

* * *

The lone figure walked through the desert, shrouded in a brown hooded robe. As a gust of wind kicked up some of the sand in front of him, he raised his arm in front of his face to protect it, revealing a black metal armor along the figure's arm. The wind soon died down, and the Digimon then wiped the sand out of his construct. A beeping then sounded on the arm. He looked down at a display to see something that pleased him. _I'm getting closer_, he thought.

* * *

"The evil destined appeared one year ago." Ponchomon answered Joe's question. "The strange thing was there was no major evil before them. They just appeared and immediately started a crusade against the digital world."

"So they're not being controlled by the dark needle?" Joe asked.

"Of that I have no idea." Ponchomon replied regrettably.

"When Shurimon captured us," Takato started, "He said something about us not being worthy enough to receive the dark needle."

"So then they are being controlled, but the question now is who gave them the dark needle."

"What is a dark needle?" Takato inquired.

"It's a needle, like a porcupine's, crafted from the dark data of Devimon. He implanted them in the evil digidestined making them evil." Joe answered. "I seriously doubt it is Devimon unless he's just completely lost it again, but at the same time I don't know of any other Digimon who could have manipulated their data like that. Devimon had to go down into the digital core to gain that power, and that's virtually impossible for any other Digimon."

"What's the digital core?" Takato asked.

"It's a long story." Joe disregarded him.

"Is it possible there is some other omnipotent Digimon that learned how to do that?" Sora proposed.

"If there is then we might be kind of screwed." Joe sighed. "But if there is some omnipotent entity, it must not be that powerful right now, since it needs the Dark Beacon to weaken its enemies."

"How many evil digidestined are there?" Sora asked.

"Travelers from the front lines have told us that only two digidestined have been leading the assault. However nobody has ever been able to capture an enemy combatant and determine if there are more."

"Front lines?" Joe said with urgency.

"Yes. The digidestined have not conquered the digital world you know," Ponchomon shook his head, "They are much less efficient than the last group. They currently only have control of the island Reboot, about the size of your earth Greenland I suppose. However they've invaded the upper-eastern side of Server. Our coast here has nothing to offer so we've been spared for the time being."

"That's great news." Joe sighed. "We've gotten here at a critical time in the evil digidestined's progress, although it's weird that they've been moving so slowly."

"The Dark Beacon is not global," Ponchomon then said to Joe's delight, "It is only effective in territories under evil digidestined control. Most of the world has retained their original strength. The problem is that the beacon travels with the enemy armies, so whenever two sides clash our troops are quickly overwhelmed. Invasions into enemy territory are also impossible because any such attempt will result in a Digimon losing all of its strength."

"That must be because of those black obelisks that Takato found," Joe speculated, "They must broadcast the signal over certain areas: but from what is the question."

"Puppetmon said that Digimon found relics that allowed them to armor digivolved," Sora addressed Ponchomon, "So why do they have most of the armor Digimon if they have so little territory; and for that matter how do the evil digidestined keep them under their control?"

"The evil digidestined conquered Reboot first," Ponchomon, "Which is where the majority of the civilization that created the relics lived. As for your other question, I don't really know. Some were probably bribed: some were probably threatened by those who had received bribes. Still others are probably evil Digimon who seek nothing more than to cause terror to the digital world."

"I've got it…!" Joe exclaimed to himself. The other four passengers looked at him curiously. After finally noticing that he was under scrutiny, Joe explained himself. "If the evil digidestined have found a way to control the Dark Beacon, but they have to strengthen the signal through the black towers, then whatever they're using to broadcast it must not have a very strong signal."

"What does that tell us?" Sora asked.

"What's the Dark Beacon again?" Guilmon asked from the back.

"A digivices can share energy between a human and its partner from up to a mile away." Joe shared in revelation. "The Dark Beacon basically operates inversely to the digivice, degenerating Digimon or at least draining them of their power while it is being broadcast."

"So the evil digidestined are using their digivices to spread the Dark Beacon?" Takato asked rhetorically.

"And of the two of them they'll always be in the proximity of a black tower, which will pick up the signal and broadcast it to other black towers, creating a network that spreads the Dark Beacon across their conquered territories. The only problem is we don't know who invented the Dark Beacon or how the evil digidestined figured out how to control it."

"And you never will figure it out." A voice spoke to the group's right. Everyone turned to see an eye, attached to a metal oval, speaking to them.

"Uh, who are you?" Ponchomon inquired as he slowed down a bit.

"Nothing good for you." The Digimon growled. Ponchomon realized his mistake too late as a swarm of ocean dwelling armor Digimon quickly swarmed their boat, forcing him to come to a stop.

"Crap…" Joe clenched a fist in fury as the leader of the group surfaced in front of them. The same Digimon who had spoken to them before, it revealed itself as a Digimon shaped like a submarine, except much smaller with many noticeable differences. For one, it only fit one person: a dome on its head held an air-tight compartment. It also had four fins on either side of its body and a dorsal fin on its back. A spiky harpoon also jutted out of the nose of the machine. "Who are you?"

"I am Submarimon: leader of the naval forces of the digidestined. And you five are trespassing in restricted territory: not to mention the fact that you're humans whom are strictly prohibited from being in the digital world."

"Excuse me?" Sora growled angrily.

"You heard me." Submarimon barked. "The "evil tamers" as you folks like to call them have decreed that any humans spotted in the digital world besides themselves are to be shot on site: good bye." He raised his nose.

"Guilmon!" Takato exclaimed, calling for his partner's aide. The Digimon complied by preparing to digivolve. A light swarmed around the red raptor but faded a second later with no result.

"I don't think it's gonna work Takato." Guilmon sighed.

"Even if you had managed to digivolve without capsizing your vessel you can't, because we have buoys stationed throughout this segment of the ocean preventing any champion or higher digivolution!" He raised his nose again.

"Ponchomon do something!" Joe pleaded.

"I got it!" Ponchomon gunned the throttle, surprising Submarimon. The Digimon reacted foolishly by lowering his head to see, dropping his spiked nose under the water and allowing Ponchomon's boat to jump right off of the Digimon's head and into the safety of the water beyond. Ponchomon's boat then sliced through the water towards the safety of the Server mainland.

"Catch them!" Submarimon ordered, and his troops complied, storming after the small boat with impeccable speed. Submarimon quickly jolted ahead of the wolf pack with a newfound hatred of the group he had just encountered.

"They're gaining on us!" Sora exclaimed as she rapidly tapped Ponchomon in the shoulder, urging him to move faster to outmaneuver the squadron that was right on their heels.

"Guilmon if you can't digivolve can you still fight?" Takato asked hopefully.

"You bet I can." Guilmon growled as he positioned himself at the stern and steadied himself for better aim. "Pyro Sphere!" He fired at one of their pursuers, a whale-like Digimon who took the full force of the attack in the face and fell backwards, crashing into a merman with blue armor and knocking them both out of the pursuit.

"Orcamon, Depthmon, get moving!" Submarimon ordered as he quickly glanced behind to see that two of his soldiers had fallen behind.

"There: one of the peninsulas!" Joe exclaimed as they neared a narrow stretch of land that jutted out of the Server mainland and provided a small beach in contrast to the usual high cliffs.

"Perfect," Ponchomon mumbled. He then practically slammed the throttle, urging the vehicle to move at top speed. It wouldn't be good for the engine, but he didn't need the speed boost to last long: just long enough for them to safely arrive at the beach. "We're gonna make it."

"BOOM!!!" The engine blew outwards, fragmenting into the body of the Seahomon who had been closest to them. The sea armor Digimon dropped into the water like a dead fish, but the cost was too great for the digidestined and Ponchomon. Their boat had just enough momentum to almost make it to shallow water: almost. The speedboat stalled to a halt and then the Digimon swarmed around them immediately.

"How pitiful," Submarimon shook his head, "All that work only to be thwarted at the last second by your own efforts."

"I don't like the way this escape plan is going." Sora whined.

"We're so close," Takato looked on at the shore, which was only a dozen or so feet away, "If only we could push ourselves halfway there, then we'd be in shallow enough water to make a dash for the shore."

"Too bad that won't be happening!" Submarimon yelled, having overheard their conversation, and then jammed his harpoon into the side of the boat, preventing it from moving any further.

"I think it is official now: we're royally screwed." Joe muttered.

"Now men, prepare to fire on my mark," Submarimon commanded, "One-!"

"Wait!" Takato exclaimed. "Is there anything we can do to stop you from doing this?" He pleaded. "Would you take a bribe?"

"I am the only one with the power and authority to accept a bribe," Submarimon growled, "And I have no wish to bargain with the likes of you!"

"Then at least take us to your masters so they can dispose of us properly." Joe proposed, trying to buy them some more time.

"The masters were very specific in saying that any humans were to be killed on site. Men, I will dispose of them, hold them still." The Digimon raised his nose to attack as the other Digimon gripped onto the boat.

"Lightning Blade!" A tall and black humanoid lunged through the air and shot a stream of electric energy at Submarimon, who was thrown backwards into deeper water.

"Why does that keep happening?" Submarimon grumbled rhetorically, then turning his attention to the entity that had dropped into the boat along with Ponchomon and the digidestined. He didn't have time to examine the digital monster however, as he dropped his arms into the water, formed a drill out of his hands, and then spun them, giving the group the much needed kick to start towards the shore. One of the sea monsters attacked, but Guilmon knocked them away with a well placed Pyro Sphere. The others followed up with attacks, but the Digimon got them to the shore too fast. The six hopped out of the boat and bolted down the peninsula, out of the range of the unit.

"Thanks HiAndromon." Joe sighed with relief, immediately recognizing his ally. The Digimon, who was shrouded in a brown hooded robe, pulled the hood down to reveal his metallic, humanoid face.

"I'm glad to see you made it out of Puppetmon's territory safely." HiAndromon returned the sentiment. "Swanmon sent me a transmission shortly after you left, but the signal was cut off."

"And Puppetmon?" Sora inquired to their new friend.

"He did not survive Shurimon's onslaught." HiAndromon replied to everybody's regret. "Fortunately Shurimon left Swanmon and the hospital alone. At least I hope so: I don't know why our connection was cut." HiAndromon then turned to the girl, noticing that he had never seen her before. "You must be the new digidestined. It is a pleasure." He held his hand out.

"Uh…" Sora shook his hand warily.

"Ah, you are wary of your title I see," HiAndromon smiled as Joe gave him an affirming nod, "Do not worry; you will get over that soon enough."

"This is Sora," Joe explained to HiAndromon, "And her partner Pafumon." He then turned to Takato. "And this is Takato and Guilmon." He then indicated to their ferryman. "Ponchomon here helped ferry us here."

"It is nice to meet all of you. Now we must get you to the port." He pushed them along, and the group then started towards the south.

They arrived. The group of seven (Joe, Takato, Guilmon, Sora, Pafumon, HiAndromon, and Ponchomon) walked through the gate of a one story wall and arrived in an old world town.

"Well, this is where I should bid you all adieu." Ponchomon said to the digidestined.

"Will you be okay by yourself Ponchomon?" HiAndromon inquired. "We can provide you with accommodations here while a team is sent out to check on your village."

"I have a friend who lives here," Ponchomon replied, "I can stay with him for a while until it's safe to go back."

"Well then, thank you for escorting them as far as you did. I am sorry about your boat. I would compensate you if we weren't already in short supply of pretty much everything."

Ponchomon said it was okay, and then said his goodbyes to the digidestined. He then marched off into the city alone.

"Come, I will get you to the docks," HiAndromon shepherded them through the relatively bustling town. The destined received a few concerned looks from the citizens, but upon seeing HiAndromon with them their fears were relieved.

"A delicate situation has arisen in the digital world," HiAndromon explained, "The citizens do not take kindly to being attacked by humans twice. However I and the rest of the partner Digimon have managed to convince them that not all of the humans are enemies, contrary to what happened last time, but most Digimon are still very suspicious. We must be careful."

"How many of you are left?" Joe asked.

"After the loss of Puppetmon and the Royal Knights," HiAndromon dipped his head, "The only partner Digimon I know of that are alive are myself, MetalSeadramon, and Diaboromon. I do not know what has become of Gomamon Joe," He said to Joe's disappointment, "I am sorry." They arrived at the docks.

"It's okay; I'll find him sooner or later." Joe answered.

"Now, we need to find you passage to File Island," HiAndromon said to himself, "Why are you going there again?"

"Puppetmon said there was something there that would convince them-" Joe glanced back to Sora and Takato, who glared at him for speaking as if they weren't there- "To help try and save the digital world. And if not then they can use the data stream there to get back home."

"Very well then," HiAndromon led them down a wooden walkway to a caravel with raggedy white sails, a lone merchant's transport to File Island as HiAndromon explained.

"HiAndromon can I ask you a question?" Joe inquired.

"Well you seem to have answered that yourself haven't you?" HiAndromon smiled at him. "Of course, go ahead."

"Why are you here in the port city? I mean, I gathered that Puppetmon lived in that castle, but should both of you really be in such close proximity to each other if you're at war with the evil digidestined?"

"Ah, yes. You see currently I am the overseer of the continent of Folder, but our seas have been afflicted by the dark beacon as well. MetalSeadramon and his army have set up corridors of protection that allow for safe passage; however the one from Server to Folder has been broken. I was here for a meeting with Puppetmon when the evil digidestined's navy cut it off, and now I am in the port city to discuss the matter with MetalSeadramon. He has information that will be crucial to the naval campaign. In fact he should be here any minute." HiAndromon explained.

"BOOM!!!" An explosion shook the waterfront. The dock that the digidestined were walking down exploded in a shower of splinters and foam, just short of where the group was standing. A second, later, the merchant aboard the caravel leaped off just in time to avoid death by harpoon as Submarimon sliced the vessel in half.

"How perfect," Submarimon smiled as his men began to emerge from beneath the waves, tenfold compared to the group that had chased down Ponchomon's boat, "My prey walks right into my trap right as I finish setting it."

"It's a full scale attack, move back!" HiAndromon ordered to everyone in the port. All of the Digimon began to scramble off of the docks and onto dry land as the fleet of Digimon began firing viciously. HiAndromon covered the three humans and their two partners as they fled off of the broken dock and into the safety of a now abandoned merchant shop, taking cover behind the counter.

"What now?" Takato yelled over the explosions.

"That group consists of about a hundred Digimon," HiAndromon answered, "As a mega that is around the limit to how many champion power level Digimon I can handle. I will secure the evacuation of the port and then dispose of them myself."

"Shurimon approaches!" Somebody screamed from the outside. "With a force of hundreds of mon!"

"Now that poses a problem." HiAndromon sighed. "However once MetalSeadramon gets here we shall be able to fend them off with little trouble."

"Halsemon and his sky forces attack!" The same herald yelled.

"Oh come on!" HiAndromon's face dropped.


	6. The Last Stand of the Old Digidestined

There was a nasty instance of failing-biology-forever and mary sue-ing(if there's a verb for the act) in chapter 63 of Absolution, so I went and fixed it. Check it out if it bothered you. In other news, please look at my profile for a very important update on Digimon fanfiction.

**Chapter Six: The Last Stand of the Old Digidestined**

A figure stood in a dark room working over some object, his task obscured by the shade in the room. Then the light flickered on after the man had flipped the switch: five minutes ago. He hated this room. He hated this building. Nothing worked in it. But as long as he was stuck operating from this island, he had no other choice. It was the only building that could serve his purposes. And it wasn't that awful: from the outside it looked sort of like the Gulag: not that any reasonable person would enjoy a trip to the Gulag. But this man was not a reasonable person, evident by the fact that when the light turned on, the entire room was illuminated in a dull light that evaporated most of the darkness: except for the dark mist surrounding the man washing the blood off of his hands in the sink. That was one of two things in the large room. A sink sat in one corner, on the same wall as the door, and on the other side of the 20x20 foot room was a rectangular stone base, large enough for a tall man to lie on fully. Leaning against that base was a six sided elongated shield. It was the man's favorite feature of the room, due to its weight. There was one other object that was not a natural inhabitant of the chamber however: pinned to the wall was a massive black gear, spinning slowly even though it was not attached to any running machinery.

Then, the only blank wall in the room illuminated with a burst of swirling light. It regurgitated a dark mass and then vanished, leaving the room relatively black. The mass then picked itself off of the floor, revealing itself as a boy, 12 years of age, with greasy/messy hair and cold, dead eyes.

"Oh, hey, I didn't think you'd be here." Kairo Matsuki nodded to the shrouded figure on the opposite side of the room.

"I just got back from the western front," The man, or teen rather, explained, "I needed to wash up after dealing with UltimateBrachiomon."

"So he's finally dead?" Kairo asked with hope.

"Yes, along with the rest of his friends. That only leaves the few remaining partner Digimon for us to dispose of, and all of our major digital enemies will have perished. Why did J.P. go back?"

"He had some unfortunate news to report." Kairo's eyes darted away from the sight of the teen. "Apparently, Makuramon turned the Destiny Key."

"Crap," The figure massaged his temple, "So how many are there?"

"One that we know of."

"Damn it, as soon as I figure out how to get into the fourth plane I'm going to take great pleasure in ripping apart that despicable monkey."

"That's not all," Kairo continued unfortunately, "When J.P. went to the fifth plane to dispose of the knights, he encountered two of the original digidestined along with the new one."

"So they're in collaboration, and the new ones know everything that the old ones do."

"It's safe to assume that, yes." A knock on the door ended their conversation.

"Come in." The shrouded person grumbled. An irrelevent servant opened the door and allowed Shurimon into the room. "What is it Shurimon."

'My liege, I regret to inform you that I have run into human children and I believe them to be digidestined."

"How many?"

"Three my liege. One of them is oler than the others and appears more knowledgable."

"Where are they now?"

"They are headed to the port city on the southern tip of Server. All of our units in the region are converging there now. We will dispose of them as well as HiAndromon."

"Good: return to your units at once."

"Yes master." Shurimon bowed his head and exited the room.

"Junpei has orders that need to be conveyed. Have you finished the device yet to allow all three of us to be here at the same time?"

"Unfortunately not," Kairo reported, "The gate has been overheating. I've been working to fix that problem."

"We can't afford to deal with that right now," Said the shrouded man, "Send J.P. back, finish the device quickly and then come here so we can initiate our final plan."

"What about the original digidestined?" Kairo inquired. "They're probably working on a way to get here right now."

"Let them come," The figure smiled evilly, "They are a part of the process anyway. By the time they arrive all of their partners will be dead and File Island will be under our control, as well as Primary Village."

"Uh, we're attacking File Island?" Kairo cocked his head confused, "But it's a fortress: especially now with Diaboromon guarding it. Our Dark Beacon doesn't even penetrate the new shields they've developed."

"That will be dealt with soon enough." The figure answered. "That's where J.P. comes in. Now, get back to the real world and finish that device."

"Alright then," Kairo shrugged.

"Wait," The man halted Kairo, "You said J.P. finished the assault on the fifth plane?"

"Yes."

"So does that mean we have a prisoner?"

"Yes it does," Kairo smiled as he realized what the teen was getting at, "He was sent through the data streams to the loading bay. Would you like me to retrieve him for you?"

"Yes I would." He nodded.

"I shall return then." Kairo then walked to the door and exited, "Monodramon!" Kairo ordered his partner to his side as the door closed. A few minutes later Kairo and his partner Monodramon, a small purple dragon Digimon with aerodynamic appendages, dragged in a humanoid covered in dark purple armor with a skull-shaped helmet and dropped him in front of the teen, who was leaning against the base pivoting the shield on his foot.

"Ugh!" Craniamon dropped to the ground with a thud and was barely able to get onto his knees.

"Do you remember me?" The man asked.

"I… don't know…" Craniamon looked at the figure; unsure of whom he was as his features were shrouded by a black mist.

"Maybe this will help." The man waved his hand over his face, and the black mist shrouding it temporarily faded away, revealing the face of a purple haired Chinese teen boy.

"Oh Yggdrasil…!" Craniamon gasped weakly.

"That's right." The teen stared at Craniamon with intense hatred, "Long time no see, eh 'Tentomon'?"

"What happened to you…?" Craniamon coughed. "You disappeared."

"I didn't disappear; I was forgotten by you and your brethren." He growled, picking up the heavy shield with the added strength of the dark mist. "Now do you have any last words?" He then nodded to Kairo and Monodramon.

"I…" Craniamon was speechless. Kairo and Monodramon then kicked the ultimate mega's arms out from under him, causing the monster to drop flat on his face. Henry Wong then raised the shield over his head, walked over to Craniamon and dropped the heavy object down on Craniamon's neck, severing the monster's head with a sickening crack.

* * *

"Move now!" HiAndromon provided cover for Joe, Takato, Guilmon, Sora, and Pafumon as they raced along the dock, headed for the safety of MetalSeadramon. He had arrived a few minutes ago and was helping defend the port from Submarimon's forces. However HiAndromon had other ideas. With the entire city outnumbered, they would soon be overrun. Their only hope would be for the digidestined to sneak away on MetalSeadramon while HiAndromon helped the citizens of the port city evacuate. Nobody was thrilled with the idea, but it was determined had determined that it was the safest option. So now, he was defending the group of destined as they made their way to MetalSeadramon who was waiting at a secluded boardwalk after having warded off the naval attack for at least a few minutes. In the meantime, swarms of flying armor Digimon were assaulting HiAndromon. Fortunately they arrived at MetalSeadramon with little incident. "Good luck all of you," HiAndromon nodded his head as the group piled onto the back of the sea serpent.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Joe asked worriedly.

"No, but we have no other choice, now go." HiAndromon nodded to the gold armor covered sea snake.

"Good luck brother." MetalSeadramon growled as he took off and started to speed through the water. The three humans looked back with worry at the port city as Digimon swarmed from all sides.

"Oh, are they going to be alright Takato?" Guilmon asked concerned.

"I don't think so buddy." His partner answered solemnly.

"Lightning Blade!" HiAndromon slashed his way through the land forces, opening a path for the innocent rookie and armor Digimon to escape into the desert. Unfortunately, this was only a small fraction of the Digimon that resided in the city, and it had taken him an hour to gather this one group.

"Double Stars!" Shurimon attacked from above, striking at HiAndromon's back. HiAndromon pivoted and knocked the blades away, making them zigzag back to Shurimon.

"You have just sealed your fate Shurimon." HiAndromon growled as he looked up at the tree ninja, who was standing on the one story shack next to him.

"Normally I would agree, but this time I think you'll find that the odds are in my favor." Shurimon laughed.

"How do you figure?" HiAndromon barked. Shurimon moved over with a large grin on his face to reveal a black tower almost completely constructed.

"What is that?" HiAndromon ordered to know.

"That is the tool by which our masters broadcast the Dark Beacon." He gave the unfortunate truth.

"Well then," HiAndromon dropped his head, "If I am to die anyway than perhaps you should see what a real dark Digimon looks like. I developed this skill soon after your "masters" attacked. Good luck as it is my strongest form."

"Excuse me?"

**"HiAndromon Slide Evolution… Machinedramon!"**

* * *

"So I found out that the naval forces have been building these buoys," MetalSeadramon explained to Joe, "Buoys supporting tall black towers. I think they're broadcasting the Dark Beacon across the oceans. The sea already prevents land and air monsters from digivolving past champion, and now because of the Dark Beacon every Digimon is even more restricted than that."

"Takato found something similar out in the desert," Joe explained, "Tell him Takato."

"Yeah, um," Takato began, "Guilmon and I were caught by Shurimon, and then one of his minions accidentally told us that the tower broadcast the Dark Beacon. Guilmon tricked Shurimon into breaking it, and then he was able to digivolve into Growlmon."

"Ah, so they're using that system everywhere." MetalSeadramon said in revelation. "Fortunately we've secured many corridors across the ocean where these buoys have been dismantled. I was going to report this information to HiAndromon, but alas I didn't have the time."

"We can tell Diaboromon when we get to File Island," Said Joe, "At least somebody will get the information."

"Speaking of which once we get there I will drop you off and go back to Server to aid HiAndromon." MetalSeadramon said. "I can't in good conscious leave him there by himself."

"Will you have enough time?" Sora inquired.

"I don't know if you've noticed but I'm travelling at very fast speeds. It's harder for you to tell because my head is blocking the wind." Sure enough, the sea snake slowed to a halt near at a large island. The digidestined were awed at the sight of it. There were massive grey metal walls built every few miles inland, surrounding File Island like the contour lines of a map.

"It's very convenient for keeping out intruders, don't you think?" MetalSeadramon smiled. "There's also a signal scrambler on top of Infinity Mountain that keeps the Dark Beacon from affecting the island. It is the only one in existence though, unfortunately." He arrived at Port USB, where a guarded dock welcomed the sight of the massive sea serpent. They were even more excited by the sight of the digidestined, who clambered onto the dock as MetalSeadramon said his farewell and dove off to assist in the defense of the port of Server. One individual in particular was the most ecstatic.

"Joe!!!" A white seal-like Digimon with purple markings and clawed fins hopped down the wooden walkway and right into Joe's arms.

"Gomamon!" Joe cheered at the sight of his partner, grasping him in a deep, bone crushing hug. "I was worried sick about you. Nobody had any idea if you were alive or dead or-!"

"Geez, sentimental much?" Gomamon smiled at the teen. "Hey, what's up with the hair?"

"I grew it out. My last haircut made me look like a 50s ad man."

"I have no idea what that means, but let's go. Diaboromon will be ecstatic to see you." Gomamon then hopped away from Joe and started down the dock.

"What, that's it?" Joe shrugged. "Four years, I'm worried sick, and all I get is 'what's up with the hair'?"

"Yep!" Gomamon yelled back as he passed through the gate built into the large wall in front of them. Joe rolled his eyes and started after him. Takato and Sora raced close behind.

"That Gomamon is funny." Guilmon commented. "And he smells like fish!"

"Guilmon that's the third time today you've brought up food. We caught some food at the port." Takato complained.

"And I was fine: until I smelled the fish."

* * *

MetalSeadramon arrived at the port just as the sun had vanished over the horizon. Nothing was there. The buildings were in shambles and dying fires strived to ravage the town. HiAndromon must have completed the evacuation, he thought. Just in case though MetalSeadramon decided to hop on land and scout out Port Server. He sifted through the wreckage and semi-burning buildings, searching for any stragglers that might have gotten left behind or been hurt. He cursed himself for not getting there sooner; a large portion of the death toll was on him and his absence. However he knew he had little choice; the digidestined needed to be brought to safety. Nevertheless, he needed to make sure that anyone who might have been left behind be secured.

"Hagurumon!" MetalSeadramon then spotted the small gear creature that was the rookie version of HiAndromon lying in the street. MetalSeadramon foolishly slithered over to him, only realizing his mistake as it was too late. "Wait." He screeched to a halt.

"How you ever "saved the world" I'll never know." A voice laughed from the tallest structure in the city, a three story capitol a ways down the street.

"Damn you digidestined." MetalSeadramon hissed at Junpei Shibayma, who revealed himself atop the building with his rookie partner standing by him.

"Curse me all you like," J.P. smiled, "But it won't save you. Go!" Junpei snapped his fingers and Gaomon dived off of the building, slamming into the ground and then immediately jumping forward to attack.

"Let's see how long it takes for your stupid beacon to work then shall we?" MetalSeadramon coiled up and sprang forward.

"Gao Rush!"

"River of Power!!!"

* * *

Sora Takenouchi kept to herself. That's usually what she did in the most peculiar situations. When she was comfortable around people, she tended to explode with joyous cheers. But around the company of strangers (and sentient non-humans) she liked to keep quiet. She was quickly becoming fed up however. Everyone was expecting her, Takato, Guilmon, and the child-like puff ball in her hands to be some sort of saviors. She was only 12 years old. This baby Digimon she was holding just seemed to enjoy laughing and hopping over her head. Now Takato, on the other hand, he and Guilmon seemed like the sort of pair that could do some world saving. After all, Guilmon could digivolve into a tyrannosaur sized monster. _Pafumon can't do that, can he_? It didn't matter. Sora wasn't cut out for this. But then again, all of these Digimon (and Joe) had a lot of faith in her. And they were in serious trouble.

"I'm not going to lie to you," Joe said to Takato. "It was tough. The lot of us had mental breakdowns at some time or another."

"Mental breakdowns?" Takato gulped.

"Yeah, they all just dropped to their knees and started freaking out like it was some crappy plot device."

Gomamon led them through a forest path and up a mountain to a walled city that looked to be a combination of an Italian fortress and a Native American pueblo community. Upon arrival, they entered the gates and made their way to a two story villa mansion. Within the courtyard of the mansion sat a 50 foot, lanky, black and yellow demon with horns and glowing yellow eyes. Takato and Sora gulped.

"Joe, how wonderful to see you again," Diaboromon bent down and weakly shook Joe's hand, although to Joe it felt as if his hand was about to be ripped out of its socket.

"It's good to see you too," Joe replied as Diaboromon let go of his hand and the digidestined of reliability massaged his shoulder. "This is Takato and Joe, and their partners Guilmon and Pafumon."

"He's so tall." Sora whispered.

"He must eat a lot of bread." Guilmon agreed.

"Guys, this is Diaboromon," Joe explained, "My friend Koichi's partner."

"Hi…" Takato mumbled to the giant.

"I'm glad you made it here safely," Diaboromon spoke, then walking out of the villa (or rather climbing out of it) and beckoning to the digidestined to follow, "HiAndromon sent a courier ahead of time to tell us of your arrival."

"So you know what happened?" Takato asked as they began walking down the street, towards somewhere of Diaboromon's choosing.

"What do you mean?" Diaboromon asked, oblivious to the situation at Port Server. He led them to a staircase by which the smaller entities could climb to the top of the fortifications surrounding the metropolis, while Diaboromon stayed at ground level so that their faces would be level to each other.

"It's under attack," Joe replied solemnly, "The evil digidestined's land, air, and sea forces have all lain siege to the port."

"Ugh." Diaboromon looked out into the ocean. "That means they'll probably be coming here next."

"Can you be sure?" Sora asked.

"Yes." Diaboromon nodded. "File Island is home to Primary Village, where all Digi-cores go after a Digimon dies. They are reconfigured into digi-eggs and placed under the care of a select group of Elecmon who care for them until they're old enough to leave the village."

"So…" Takato's mind kicked into action, "If the evil digidestined get control of File Island-"

"Then in essence they'll have control over the entire digital world." Sora realized.

"How do you figure that?" Takato asked.

"She is right." Diaboromon nodded. "By controlling Primary Village, the evil digidestined will control every Digimon that dies and comes back to life. This will allow them to recruit every fallen soldier that we lose, and eliminate any unconditional enemy that falls by destroying their digi-egg and absorbing their digi-core."

"I.e. Puppetmon." Said Joe.

"File Island is truly the last stand of the digital world. If we lose it, then we might as well kiss our sorry ass's goodbye."

"You know there are kids here right?"

"As if that stopped you?" Diaboromon replied. "Now, we must gather our forces. If there is going to be a widespread invasion then we should have as many of the sea Digimon guarding the beach as possible."

"I can go out and call the sentries guarding the safe sea corridors to gather around the island," Said Gomamon, "Give us some extra protection."

"Can you go out that far as a rookie though?" Diaboromon inquired.

"I won't have to," Gomamon responded, "Joe can help me digivolve into Ikkakumon or Zudomon."

"I'm afraid not." Joe added regrettably. "I don't have my digivice with me. When I left the house I didn't exactly realize I was coming so I didn't bring it."

"Damn." Gomamon swore.

"You spoil everything you know that?"

"You won't have the time anyway," Diaboromon pointed out to the horizon, where the sun had almost vanished below the horizon, "Danger approaches." A thin column of smoke could be seen rising in the distance.

"They're coming." Joe leaned against the barrier, focusing on the direction of Port Server. "How many Digimon do you have who can fight?"

"Assuming that the digidestined don't penetrate the island as well and make all of our digivolutions useless: fifty champions, ten ultimates, and myself."

"That's 250 in terms of armor Digimon power." Joe analyzed.

"And the force that attacked the port was well over 300 strong." Sora sighed.

"But they'll have been weakened after fighting HiAndromon and his forces right?"

"With the evil tamers it won't matter." Diaboromon answered. "We have a scrambler on top of Infinity Mountain that blocks the signal around File Island, but undoubtedly their first target will be the bunker that holds the scrambler, or the radio tower that broadcasts it. It is very vulnerable atop the mountain."

"Can't you move it?" Takato inquired.

"The mountain blocks the signal if it is on one side of it or the other. If we were to move it half of the island would be secure and the other half would be vulnerable."

"All of our forces need to be centralized at or around the top of the mountain then right?" Joe asked.

"No. If we do that then our beaches and cities will be unprotected, and our vulnerability will increase tenfold."

"Then we spread the majority of your forces around the most vulnerable and important spots on the Island, and send a small number of your best troops topside to protect the scrambler and broadcast tower."

"Exactly." Diaboromon nodded.

"I shall inform the ultimates." Diaboromon began skulking away. "Now is the time to decide if you shall stay or not," Diaboromon glanced at Takato and Sora, "You will be a great asset to the defense of our island, but if you choose to leave we will think no less of you." With that, he scrambled off through the city to alert its citizens of the dangers that were coming.

"You'd better decide fast," Joe then added, looking across the horizon, "Because they're coming." The rest of the group turned to the north to see a mass of tiny black dots appearing in the now dissipated sunlight, no doubt the massive sea and air forces of the evil digidestined.


	7. Gears of War

**Chapter Seven: Gears of War**

**Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**11:53 P.M: January 11****th****, 2010**

Tai lay in his bed, on the lower bunk. It may have been late, but he was still fully clothed. He didn't have the ability to go back to sleep. Too many thoughts were running through his head. In one day, he had gone back to the digital world, lost his partner, came back, and witnessed one of his closest family friends get thrown into a world that Tai knew he was unprepared for. _Takato's a good kid, _Tai thought to himself,_ but he didn't do well under pressure. Once he had fainted on a roller coaster; luckily there were no loops. He's adventurous, but he isn't cut out for action. At least Joe is there too though. He'll keep Takato safe._

Kari walked back into the room and sat down in the desk chair. She had been running interference between the Kamiyas and the Matsukis. Tai and Kari had told their parents that Takato had gone home. They had told the Matsukis that Takato was staying at their house for the night. Needless to say, Tai and Kari had been running back and forth, intercepting every phone call, to ensure the four parental units wouldn't come into contact with each other.

"They finally went to bed," Kari sighed, "So I disconnected the phone line. One of us will have to get up early and put it back in before Mom and Dad wake up."

"I'll do it. You get some sleep." Tai sighed.

"You're not going to go to bed?" Kari inquired.

"No, I'm too restless."

"That's not going to help anyone Tai. Go to sleep."

"Then how am I supposed to be up before our parents to plug the phone back in?"

"Have you ever heard of an alarm?" Kari inquired. Tai's cell phone then rang. "Oh, I guess you have."

"It's Izzy," Tai grumbled as he hopped out of his bed and grabbed the phone off of the computer desk, "He said he'd call if he thought of anything."

"So are you going to answer it or just stand there and do nothing?" Tai rolled his eyes and answered the phone.

"Hey Izzy."

…

"Yeah of course we have a car."

…

"No,_ I_ don't have a car. I can get everywhere I need to with the subway."

…

"You're going to do what?"

…

"Wait, I know of something. Meet us on the roof, and bring Yolei."

…

"Yes, the roof."

…

"Stop complaining, just meet us up there." With that, he hung up the phone and started towards the door. The two slipped out of their room, grabbed their shoes and jackets, and popped back in their room to exit via their bedroom window.

"What does Izzy want with a car?" Kari inquired.

* * *

Tai fiddled around in his pocket for the keys. They were on the roof of their apartment building, at a small penthouse-garage structure, given to Susumu Kamiya by the landlord, another good friend of the family; the Kamiyas were popular people in Odaiba.

"Woah, private storage," Izzy arrived from the stairs, caring a small pack, "Be still my heart."

"You should leave the bad jokes to Eric." Tai gave a tired glare.

"I would but he's not here." Izzy shrugged. "Somebody has to take his place."

"Then let me do it," Tai popped the key lock off with the turn of a key, "I'm better at it than you."

"What are we talking about?" Yolei arrived from the stairs.

"Izzy's trying to be funny." Kari responded as she and Tai lifted up the door.

"Can smart people do that?" She inquired. Izzy shrugged the lot of them off as he walked into the garage with Tai, who turned the light on in the process. The four were then exposed to an assortment of stored items: tools, boxes, tubs of old clothes. But the most important took up half the garage including its surrounding work space: a motorcycle.

"So whatever crazy thing you're planning: will a motorcycle engine do?" Tai asked.

"It should still work." Izzy dropped the pack onto a work bench, then checking the exposed engine of the motorcycle. "The principle's the same. Why is this up here anyway?"

"My dad likes to work on it on his days off. It's his little pet project."

"It looks fine; why doesn't he ride it?"

"Mom won't let him." Kari commented.

"So what do we need a car- er- motorcycle engine for?" Yolei inquired.

"Not the whole engine so much as the battery," Izzy explained as he removed said component, "My computer's battery wasn't enough to handle the wormhole that the digivice made, so I'm going to use this battery to power the digivice." As he said this, he began taking the back of the digivice off and accessed the battery panel. Fortunately, batteries were something the two dimensions shared. Exposing a pair of wires for access, he then attached the jumper cables Izzy had brought and attached them to the wires, tweaking the connection with electrical tape for safety. He then attached the other end of the jumper cables to the motorcycle battery and proceeded to plug his special adapter from his digivice to the net book he had brought with him. "I downloaded the program onto my Dad's net book. Hopefully I should be able to open the wormhole using the battery from the motorcycle while keeping the laptop from being ruined forever like my computer." The four then proceeded to take Izzy's contraption outside to an exposed location on the roof.

"Why can't we just use a car battery again?" Kari asked, shivering a little. It was a little more than windy on the rooftop.

"Well we don't want the battery to fry, but if it does I'd rather not have one of our parents go to start their car and find a melted mess of a battery instead."

"Okay, so we see if this works, and if it does we go get Iori and Jeri. They're Digidestined now, so whether they like it or not they have a job to do." Tai determined.

"I'm starting it now," Izzy accessed the program he had used earlier to find the Shiokaze Park wormhole, and then pressed the lone button on his digivice. "This is going to cause quite a light show." They all stepped back, held their breaths, and were relieved when the digivice started to glow a hot white color. Then, the small screen on the device exploded with light and a man-sized portal suddenly expanded at a slant in front of them, out of the digivice and thankfully not the computer.

"It works!" Yolei cheered.

"Izzy, turn it off, we don't want to waste the battery." Tai suggested.

"Right." Izzy ducked down to his computer and ended the program, shutting off the connection between the digivice and the wormhole. "Tai, you should go get Iori and Jeri. We actually need them for this next part." Izzy instructed. Tai complied and headed down the stairs towards his bike.

**The Digital World**

"So…"

"So…"

"There's an army of Digimon coming to destroy this island and us with it."

"And a navy and an air force."

"Right."

"And we have two choices: get the heck out of dodge or stay and fight."

"I'm kind of hoping for the first one."

"But we can't really do that can we? Everyone here will probably die if we don't help."

"But is there anything we can really do to help?"

"Maybe we could give them a piece offering: like bread or fish!" Guilmon tried to lighten the mood; it didn't work. Takato and Sora stared over the side of the wall, eyeing the specks in the distance that were heading towards them.

"Gomamon, you and me at the top of the mountain; what do you say?" Joe asked his partner as they began to walk away from Takato and Sora.

"Hey Joe," Sora called the lanky 17 year old back, "How do we get out of here, for future reference?"

"Gomamon?" Joe turned to his partner.

"What you don't know?" The seal replied.

"Of course I don't know. I'm a doctor not a physicist."

"Diaboromon said you'd know."

"Diaboromon doesn't know?"

"Nobody on this end does. We figured you and Puppetmon would tell us!"

"Izzy got us out of here the last time. Do I look like Izzy?"

They continued to argue for the next few minutes, while Takato, Sora, and Guilmon looked on in wonder.

"Excuse me," Takato managed to gain their attention, "So we're not getting back home?" Joe and Gomamon then huddled together and whispered.

"No." They both answered.

"Okay, just checking."

"So what do we do now?" Sora asked.

"Well considering you now have the choice of either dying a painful death or helping defend this island, I'd say we go up and help fortify the top of the mountain." Joe answered.

"Top of the mountain it is then." Takato sighed.

"It'll be night soon. We should move fast." Joe declared, and led the way.

* * *

Night set just as they arrived. The sun disappeared over the horizon as they reached a small shack atop a hill of rubble, which Joe recognized all too well. The setting sun had provided a small advantage in that it illuminated the enemy forces that were coming their way. Now the light was gone and the Soldiers of the Glorious Revolution were under the cover of darkness, free to strike whenever they pleased with no indication. Joe led the group into the hut, which was adjacent to a short radio tower positioned directly on the highest point of the island.

"Is this the station that's transmission is coming from?" Joe asked the Sepikmon manning an assortment of equipment.

"No, it's KXRD," The Sepikmon growled sarcastically, "All country all the time."

"We're the first ones here to help guard the place?" Takato asked.

"Diaboromon's going to send someone up, but first they have to get all of the vulnerable Digimon down into some bunkers within the mountain." The masked primate replied.

"So are the evil digidestined even going to know to attack this place?" Takato asked.

"There's a big radio tower sitting on top of the mountain. This will be the first place they attack." Sepikmon barked in irritation. Then they attacked. Somebody's missile crashed through the wall and obliterated half of the shack. Sepikmon was blown away in the blast wave. Fortunately the equipment remained functional for the time being.

"Takato, we need to protect this equipment!" Joe ordered.

"What do you expect me to do about that?" Takato whined. Joe gave him a glare. "Oh, right. Guilmon-" the raptor was already off. He slithered out of the second half of the rubble shack and became consumed in a bright white light that outshone that of the fire that had started. A moment later Growlmon stood at the ready, twisting his head rapidly in multiple directions to identify his enemies.

"Huh?" The dinosaur grunted. "There's no one out here."

"You're not serious." Joe stated. He poked his head out of the building and then gave the all clear to Takato, Sora, and Gomamon, who followed warily.

"They just attacked and then left?" Takato inquired.

"Maybe they thought they took out the whole building with that attack." Sora reasoned.

"I don't think so!" With his tail, Growlmon threw the three humans and Gomamon back into the brick hut and braced himself just as a green blur slammed into him.

"You thought I wouldn't find you eh?" Shurimon screamed with vengeance as he began to batter Growlmon with the broad side of his shuriken. "You embarrass me in front of one of my companies, destroy one of the masters' Dark Spires, and then escape with not a scratch on you, and you think I'd just forgive something like that? I am going to tear you apart!"

"Marching Fishes!" Out of nowhere a convenient stream of salt water fish appeared and slammed into Shurimon and knocked him off of Growlmon, who quickly got up and brushed himself off. The fish then vanished just as conveniently, and Gomamon then joined Growlmon's side.

"It was pretty stupid of you to come alone." Gomamon berated Shurimon.

"Our armies are progressing onto your shores as we speak, forming dozens of beachheads, all protected by quickly constructed Dark spires." Shurimon laughed. "Your signal is strong, but the Dark Spires amplify the Dark Beacon's strength, more than enough to get passed your signal." Shurimon laughed confidently. Gomamon's face dropped at the comment. "And I didn't come alone." He added.

"Tell me brother," a gruff but feminine voice in the air spoke with a condescending tone, "Were you really just knocked off of your feet by a school of fish?" The Digidestined looked up to see a four legged eagle with a metal helmet hovering above them.

"Do not mock me Halsemon. I did not see it coming." Shurimon growled at his sibling.

"You two are brother and sister?" Growlmon cocked his head.

"How does that even work?" Gomamon looked particularly surprised.

"Not biologically you idiot." Shurimon grumbled. "Take the fat one would you Halsemon?"

"Which one of us is fat?" Growlmon inquired.

"It would be my pleasure." Halsemon then dived at Growlmon and knocked him down the hill.

"Hey!" Growlmon protested as Halsemon flew down to confront him further.

"Don't take that from her Growlmon!" Takato ran out of the door so he could see his partner's fight and cheered. "Take him out like you did his brother!"

"Takato this is Growlmon's second time digivolving: he's going to be a lot weaker than before." Joe warned him.

"What? How does that even work?" Takato scoffed.

"It doesn't matter right now. You need to go find someone- anyone, and tell them we need backup up here."

"What about Growlmon I can't just leave him up here."

"Takato, I'm going to tell you something that I realized a long time ago. Everyone is always telling you that you have this great destiny to save the world. Well that destiny entails little more than you being a moving battery: now move!" Joe pointed down the mountain and urged. Takato grumbled and ran down the hill, out of sight of Halsemon and Shurimon.

"And what does that mean for us?" Sora asked.

"It means we sit here and watch while Gomamon gets slapped around." Joe replied regrettably as that exact action occurred. Shurimon, mostly to express his rage, had begun to knock Gomamon around the battlefield as if he were a rag doll.

"You know originally I was going to destroy your friends with dignity!" Shurimon barked. "But that overgrown newt infuriates me to no end, so after I'm done taking out my aggression on you I'll be able to execute the Growlmon efficiently."

"pafu!" A flurry of bubbles patted over the back of Shurimon's neck. Shurimon tossed Gomamon aside and turned around slowly.

"Pafumon I appreciate what you just tried to do there but it wasn't the greatest idea." Sora whispered desperately into her partner's ear.

"Blasted puff ball."Shurimon growled. He then walked slowly over to them with an irritated look on his face. "Give it to me if you want to prolong your life."

"We should be running now." Joe tugged at Sora's shoulder.

"Okay." Sora answered; but her legs did not share the sentiment.

"Pafu!!!" The baby Digimon then leaped out of Sora's arms and launched itself at Shurimon. **"Pafu pafu pafu… Kyaromon!" **Pafumon grew four stubby appendages as well as a long tail, while his fur turned a tan color. Shurimon didn't entertain the Digimon's delusions of grandeur however. He knocked it away before the in-training Digimon could even contemplate an attack.

"Oh no," Sora gasped. Joe was focused on something else however. After Shurimon had knocked Kyaromon away, his shroud had blown away to reveal a jagged black arch protruding from his chest.

"That is a foolish partner you have." Shurimon scoffed. "You shall die now." Shurimon prepared to attack, but a large white disc opened in the air next to him, drawing the monster's attention. He realized what it was too late as a school of fish shot out of the portal and knocked Shurimon off of his feet and down the hill.

"Joe!" Gomamon came running towards them as Sora ran off to find Kyaromon.

* * *

"Move!" Diaboromon dove towards a group of champions as a series of fire blasts came their way; the group was unaware of the presence of the projectiles. He was too late to stop the assault however, and Diaboromon had to dive away to avoid the blast radius. When the dust cleared, Diaboromon looked around: he was the only one left in that location: on his side anyway.

"Tsk tsk," A voice taunted sarcastically from a small bay within the battlefield a few yards away from where Diaboromon was. Diaboromon quickly rose to his feet to eye his foe: it was Submarimon. "It's amazing we were so afraid of assaulting this island: capturing it has been such a simple task."

"You haven't taken it yet," Diaboromon snarled back.

"Are you sure about that?" Submarimon asked cockily. A second later, Diaboromon heard a whistling sound. He dove away just in time to avoid being impaled by a black obelisk that then slammed into the ground. Diaboromon eyed the creation with confusion.

"What is that?" Diaboromon grumbled as he wiped the dust out of his eyes.

"That is how we broadcast the Dark Beacon." Submarimon laughed. "Right now hundreds of these are being dropped all over your pathetic island, making your broadcast useless." Diaboromon glared at him, but took no action. He quickly felt the effects of the device wearing on him. "Trying to degenerate?"

"Why bother? Your devices inhibit that anyway."

"So true." Submarimon sighed. "Still, it's so regretful to have to kill a target that's not even going to try to fight back."

* * *

Takato screeched to a halt. He had to, otherwise his partner would have crushed the boy under tons of weight after Halsemon tossed him through the air.

"Trying to go for some assistance are you?" Halsemon smirked. "Well if there was anybody on this island with any strength left in them that might be feasible." Halsemon landed in front of them with intent to kill.

"Oh no." Takato mumbled.

"Oh no is right boy. Your days are numbered. Mach Imp-!" Growlmon smashed Halsemon in the face with his tail before the monster could finish his attack, having pretended to be more wounded than he really was.

"Takato let's go!" Growlmon threw his body up and tossed Takato onto his back with his tail, then proceeding to run up the mountain towards Shurimon and Gomamon's battle.

* * *

"Pafumon!" Sora slid onto her knees and snatched up the in-training into her arms.

"Kyaromon." The Digimon corrected her.

"That was really stupid you know that?"

"I had to do something. Besides, it worked didn't it?"

"What?"

"Well Gomamon had time to knock Shurimon out." Kyaromon smiled weakly.

"Don't pride yourself on that pathetic action!" Shurimon rose up and lunged at the girl and her partner.

"No!" Sora began to leap away, when her digivce once again exploded with power. A white light engulfed Kyaromon, partially blinding Shurimon in the process. The light then broke up and Sora was now holding a white fox-like creature lacking hind legs with an incorporeal tail somehow wrapped around a golden circular magazine.

"Bullet Whirlwind!" The Digimon who would soon be known as Kudamon slithered out of Sora's arms and bashed the stunned Shurimon's head with the magazine, forcing the Digimon to stumble back.

"Stupid fool!" Shurimon knocked Kudamon away as he shook off what was the equivalent of a flash bang. "How many more pathetic attempts at attacking me are you going to make?" A barely noticeable movement to his right then drew Shurimon's attention. Shurimon registered the fact that half of a brick that Joe had just hurled at him was coming towards him and ducked.

"Get back here you stupid fool!" Halsemon yelled in a rage as Growlmon tried desperately to escape the Digimon, who was berating him with windy blasts. "Fight me like a mon."

"That's an incredibly lame pun, and no!" Grolwmon barked back.

"Growlmon duck!" Takato declared. Growlmon didn't hesitate to follow his partner's directions and dove down as they reached the top of the hill. Halsemon didn't take the advice and suffered a sharp pain as half a brick hurled through the air and bashed into his wing joint. The monster lost altitude and stumbled onto the ground in front of Growlmon. The dinosaur didn't waste the opportunity. He quickly stood up and stomped on the bird. Upon removing his foot he and Takato saw the digital monster crumpled in a half ball twitching violently.

"Good aim Joe." Gomamon commented as he and his partner came forward towards the rest of the battlers.

"It wasn't what I was aiming for but whatever works." Joe responded quickly. "Growlmon attack Shurimon's chest!" He then ordered. Growlmon complied as his partner slipped off his back.

"I'm gonna save this ultra powerful destructive brick for later." Takato took the half piece and stuffed it in his convienently large pocket.

"Pyro Blaster!" Shurimon had no time to react as Growlmon slung a fireball at Shurimon's chest. It hit the Black Gear dead on and Shurimon stumbled backwards.

"Hit him again!" Joe called. Growlmon fired again. This time he didn't stop. He pumped fireball after fireball into Shurimon's chest as the Digimon struggled to defend himself. Constant barrages to his weakest spot prevented the Digimon from doing anything however. "Stop!" Joe finally called. Growlmon ceased his attacks. The group then stared on as Shurimon stumbled backwards, his flaming chest exposed.

"Is he-?" Kudamon shushed Sora before she could finish her question.

"Agh, agh!" Shurimon began to cough, and then gripped his chest. His hand dropped from lack of strength however, and some residue from the destroyed Black Gear spilled out of him before his clothing fell back to cover the spot. Shurimon dropped to his knees and succumbed to a bright light that enveloped him. A second later, a short bipedal red hawk plopped onto his face, unconscious.

"So we won?" Takato asked for assurance.

"You bet we did." Joe replied as he walked over to the unconscious rookie. "But that's not all." He picked up a shard that remained from the Black Gears. "The enemy forces are being controlled by Black Gears. That means this battle," he turned to Takato, Growlmon, Sora, and Kudamon, who had grouped together, "that this war, just got a lot easier."


	8. There and Back Again

So sorry for the super long weight, but I've been swamped with schoolwork, and due to some college preparation I have going on durignt he summer, it's going to continue to be this way. I'll probably only be able to pump out one to two chapters a month for a long while, but I'll try to make them worth the wait.

**Chapter Eight: There and Back Again**

"Joe, what do you mean easier?" Takato asked Joe as he crumpled the last Black Gear shard in his hand.

"Black Gears basically possess a Digimon and force them to do the bidding of whoever's controlling the gear." Gomamon explained as the group congregated together.

"It also makes it extremely convenient to take out a Digimon being controlled by one. All you have to do is destroy, or even fracture the gear and the Digimon will be at the least incapacitated long enough for someone to do some serious damage." Joe expounded.

"So even though the soldiers of the… whatever their called, even though their stronger than us we can still target the Black Gears controlling them." Sora determined.

"And gain a potential ally in the process." Gomamon added.

"Yeah, why are they so suddenly super strong now?" Takato inquired.

"It raises a serious question though." Joe mumbled to himself.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"Am I just being ignored now?" Takato asked.

"The only one who can create Black Gears is Devimon." Gomamon sighed.

"Okay just making sure." Takato grumbled.

"But he's dead: isn't he?" Sora asked.

"Agh! Takato!" Growlmon roared as he collapsed onto the ground.

"Growlmon, what's wrong?" Takato ran over to his partner, who was crumpled on the ground twitching.

"I don't know, but my strength, it's almost gone." The Digimon grunted.

"Growlmon degenerate now!" Joe yelled to him after he realized what was happening. Growlmon struggled but complied. After struggling for about ten seconds the monster shrunk down to Guilmon size.

"How did that happen?" Takato cried as he helped his partner to his feet.

"The Dark Beacon must have gotten to him." Joe answered.

"But how? We're right next to the machine-" Before Takato could finish his statement a crash sounded from behind them. The group turned to see a bipedal blue dog throw the transmitter that had been broadcasting the jamming frequency onto the ground and smash it into even more pieces than it was before.

"It's sad really. You were so close too." J.P. smiled smugly as he walked out of the shack behind his partner. "Had you done that a few minutes earlier you might have had time to stop us from crushing your only hope into a hundred pieces."

"Oh no." Takato mumbled.

"Who are you?" Joe demanded to know.

"He's the one who killed Crusadermon." Takato answered in J.P.'s place.

"And now we're about to do the same thing to each of you, but first-"

"In case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered on this one!" Sora barked. Guilmon and Gomamon responded to her statement by slowly walking in front of the humans and facing against Gaomon.

"Are you sure about that?" J.P. smiled wickedly. The heroes looked at him in confusion, but their attention quickly changed when they heard a whirring sound above them. Joe looked up to try and detect the source of the noise.

"Oh no, move!" Joe shoved Takato and Sora out of the way and jumped away himself as a black pillar sliced through the air and smashed into the ground, impaling itself into an upright position. The Dark Spire (albeit smaller than usual) now stood before them, spreading its death dealing beacon to the entire island. But that wasn't all. After the spire landed a massive shadow was cast from the moonlight. The Digidestined looked up to see a massive brown blimp slowly coming down towards them.

"Get them on quickly before Brimpmon starts to lose power!" J.P. ordered to a team of armor Digimon (consisting of various Yasyamon and Butterflymon) that poured out of the gondola. "And grab Halsemon and Hawkmon too!"

"No!" Guilmon struggled as a Yasyamon smacked the dinosaur's skull with its staff repeatedly, until Guilmon dropped to the ground, unconscious and possibly comatose. Gomamon suffered a similar fate, while Takato and Sora tried and failed to run from their abductors. Joe and Kudamon stood peacefully: they knew there was no hope. Joe held put his hands behind his head as a Butterflymon grasped his wrists and shoved him onto the Brimpmon and then threw him into a small room opposite a grand loading bay, consisting of rows and rows of Dark Spires waiting to be launched off of the blimp and into various resistance strongholds throughout the digital world.

Joe spent the entire trip alone in his tiny cell. They had ripped out the light and locked the door, so Joe was isolated in almost total darkness. The only light came from the moonlight shining through his tiny window. Joe figured Takato and the others were probably stashed in adjacent rooms, but he didn't bother to try and communicate with them. This time in his cell was the most relaxed he had been all day. It was true, he was probably being taken to be executed, but on the plus side he had a few hours until them. In a way, he almost felt relieved, as if he was about to pay retribution. But the time alone soon ended. The blimp Digimon landed, and after a few minutes a Butterflymon opened the door and walked inside.

"Put his on." Butterflymon tossed Joe a bag with which to cover his head. Joe complied irritably, and then forced his body to relax as the Butterflymon grabbed Joe's arms and bound them behind his back with rope. The Butterflymon then pushed Joe out of the room and led him out of the blimp. Joe was forced to walk for a few more minutes, until he arrived at what he figured (based on the creaking of the floor and the echoes of his walking) was a dock. Sure enough, Joe was pushed onto a boat and then shoved onto a bench. He felt a few more thumps as other people were pushed onto the bench as well, realizing that the other Digidestined were fortunately still with him (and alive).

"Takato, Sora, Gomamon, are you there?"

"Joe?"

"No talking!" An angry voice sounded from afar. They ceased their quick conversation and kept quiet as the boat pulled away from the dock and churned into the ocean. As they travelled, Joe could only imagine why they were being taken into the middle of the sea: perhaps for body disposal. Then he realized that Brimpmon was a champion Digimon and couldn't land anywhere where the Dark Beacon was active. Brimpmon had probably landed at some secluded island safe from the Dark Beacon and the boat would take them the rest of the way to their destination.

The blimp trip had lasted for a few hours, but the boat ride took only fifteen minutes. It docked and then the group of Digidestined were taken off the boat and led down a dock, then walked for a minute or so until they arrived at some building (evidenced by the opening of a door). They were brought inside, led down some hallways, walked up some stairs, and then were brought to one final room. The door was opened and they were thrown inside, the door being slammed shut behind them.

"I'm guessing this is our new prison cell." Takato spoke with a raspy voice due to a lack of food and water.

"Not quite." Someone sounded from the darkness.

"Can we at least see whoever it is that's about to kill us?" Joe groaned at whoever was in the room. There was no response, but a few seconds later the bag was ripped off of Joe's head. Expecting to be stunned by light, Joe shut his eyes, only to be greeted with a pale light that barely illuminated the room. Joe's eyes fluttered, looking around the room to appraise his new surroundings. The first thing he noticed was J.P., walking over to Takato and ripping the bag off of his head. Joe looked further down the line to see Sora bound by rope and bag and Guilmon, Gomamon, and Kudamon sitting on the floor with their feet bound as well. Joe then examined the room they were in. It was mostly barren, except for a dirty sink to his right and a stone table sitting in the middle of the room. A shield was hanging on the back wall. "Where are we?" Joe asked J.P.

"Does it really matter?" J.P. half glared, half smiled, as he removed the bags covering the heads of Guilmon and Gomamon. Joe spotted Guilmon and noticed that his snout was bound as well. Joe then felt the ropes binding his feet being cut.

"Try anything and see what happens." A voice spoke from behind him as his hands were released from their bindings. Joe rubbed his wrists to calm the inflammation. He turned his head back to see who had released him, and noticed a dirty haired boy working on Takato's bindings who he did not recognize. He also spotted Gaomon and a Monodramon circling them.

"So what's your angle," Joe asked the two boys as the dirty haired one cut Sora's binds. He neglected to free the three Digimon. "Did you two crazy kids just up and decide one day that it would be fun to take over the digital world?"

"Oh it's not their angle Joe Kido," A third voice sounded from the room, surprising Joe, "It's mine." Joe turned his head to see shadowy figure sitting on the stone base.

"Who are you?" Joe barked. After staring at him for a few seconds Joe determined that the shadowed figure was not so because of how dark the room was, but because there was an actual dark mist surrounding him. "Is it you Devimon?"

"Oh, that would be funny wouldn't it?" The figure laughed as J.P. and the dirty haired boy walked towards him. Once dirty hair turned around, Takato let out a small gasp.

"Kairo?" Takato cried at the sight of his cousin standing by the other two evil Digidestined. "What are you- I mean I don't-!"

"You can gape over the startling revelation later Takato," The shrouded person quieted him. "Right now, we need to get back to the matter at hand."

"You mean killing us?" Sora asked with a mix of anger and fear.

"Oh no, right now we need to fix the little problem you made for us."

"And what would that be?" Joe asked as he realized that the shrouded figure's voice sounded the smallest bit familiar.

"We're talking about how you made us lose one of our generals." J.P. grumbled. He then walked behind the table-base and picked up a large brown bag, opening it and pulling out Hawkmon by the scruff of his neck. "And now we need to get him back."

"And you're going to watch, just so you can see the futility of your situation." Shadow walked over to the wall towards what Joe had previously thought was just a darker part of the room, until he realized that it was actually a massive black gear. "You see, when your friends destroyed Devimon the first time Joe," he spoke as he began to tinker with the gear, "He left one of his black gears behind. Neglecting to absorb it might have helped cause his demise, but it has proven invaluable to me."

"How do you know all of that?" Joe asked angrily. The mystery of the situation was beginning to get on his nerves.

"You really still don't recognize me?" The shadow asked.

"It's hard to when you're covered in a dark mist." He answered back.

"Ah, that is true." Shadow laughed. "Maybe this will help." Shadow waved his hand in front of his face, and the mist then began to fade away. His body became visible instead of clouded, so that the Digidestined could get a clear picture of him.

"I don't…" Joe stared at him perplexed.

"Who is it Joe?" Sora asked nervously. Takato seemed oblivious to the situation. He was too focused on his evil cousin.

"It's okay, it'll come to you. It came to the others." The teen that had been shrouded in mist then finished his tinkering with the black gear and turned around to reveal that he had pried a sliver of it off of the main body. "Now back to what we were doing before, I was about to explain that black gears seem to have very special properties. Possessing Digimon to do the gear's bidding is one thing, piercing the flesh and organs of a Digimon without causing it serious bodily harm is another. But so far my favorite property would have to be its ability to regenerate when it is broken." Joe watched in horror as the shard of the gear did just that: it grew into a smaller black gear.

"How did it-?" Joe stopped talking. Something had dawned on him. A gasp from Gomamon indicated that the same thing had dawned on him.

"See now I can create as many black gears as I want, and possess as many Digimon as I want, without having to have any of Devimon's special powers from the digital core." The teen then walked over to Hawkmon, who was lying on his stomach on the stone base, and jammed the gear into his back, forcing the Digimon to scream.

"No!" Sora leaped forward in an attempt to help the Digimon, but J.P. grabbed her and pushed her back.

"Don't even think about it." J.P. ordered.

"And you see Joe, this ability will allow me to get the revenge I so avidly seek." The shadow teen growled eerily.

"I don't believe it, Henry." Joe spoke in a stunned voice.

"Who?" Sora asked.

"Oh, finally, now we're getting somewhere." Henry Wong, the Chinese boy with spiky blue hair, walked rapidly towards Joe as Hawkmon lay on the table, twitching violently. "So you remember me now, Joe? Do you remember how Myotismon murdered my partner, and then left me in that cave?"

"Henry I-"

"Do you remember how you all moved on and got super powerful over the next hundred years, and left me behind? Do you know that mountain disappeared after VenomMyotismon was destroyed? Well wherever it went, it took me with it!"

"Henry-"

"I was trapped in that mountain for years, starving! But I never died Joe. I was just trapped in there, like I was in hell, while the dark needle that Devimon planted in me continued to fester and grow, consuming me! Until finally it lost its control over me, and I regained control, for I can only guess was because of what happened with Piedmon. But it was too late Joe. I'd been trapped in that hell for a hundred years, and was only freed because of Apocalymon ripping apart this plane."

"I don't understand Henry, why-"

"But the dark needle didn't leave my body Joe. It gave me new "abilities" after freeing me of its control. And now that I'm free, I'm going to make sure that you, and your friends, and the entire digital world, pay for leaving me in there to suffer in agony for generations! Bring him here!" Henry snapped his fingers and J.P. then marched over to Joe and grabbed his arm.

"No!" Gomamon tried to move, but his bindings prevented him from moving. J.P. and Gaomon then dragged Joe over to Henry and dropped him in front of the evil Digidestined on his knees.

"Joe!" Sora and Takato tried to come to his aid, but Kairo and Monodramon held them down, helpless against the combined strength of the evil Digidestined.

"You have nobody to blame but yourself Joe." Henry bent down so that they were at eye level. "Now, any last words?"

"I'm sorry Henry." Joe choked up a response with tears in his eyes.

"I know you are Joe." And with that he snapped his palm around Joe's throat and lifted the boy up with only the strength of his one arm. Then, something odd started to happen. The mist that Henry had been holding back so that everyone could see his face, materialized once again and began to swirl around Joe's neck.

"Joe!" Takato broke free of Monodramon and ran towards him to try and help. J.P. then tackled the boy and knocked him into the ground, where his head bashed into the floor and knocked the boy unconscious.

Joe began to choke as the color in his face was drained away. Joe's arms, which were clasped around Henry's wrist, went limp as the energy was drained out of him. Joe tried to scream, but his voice had been drained away with the rest of his strength. Now his body mass began to shrink, his muscles weaken, his blood thin, his heart slow, his synapses shut down. Joe's eyes rolled into the back of his head as his life force was literally sucked away. He struggled to retain consciousness as every process within his body began to fail.

"I only wish the rest of your friends could see what I'm doing to you, so that they would know what to expect." Henry breathed in a satisfied tone.

Takato's head swirled in pain. He used all of his strength of open his eyes. They wouldn't stay open for long. Takato eyed Joe's limp body as Henry continued to perform his sadistic ritual, and then his eyes sagged close. He opened them again, noting where J.P. was (holding back Guilmon, who was trying pointlessly to help Joe. His eyes snapped shut, and when they opened again, he began to drag his body over to Joe and Henry, desperate to do something to save his mentor. He blacked out. The adrenaline that was flowing through his veins couldn't surpass the head trauma that he had received.

A loud crack sounded in the room. A bright flash of light burned through Takato's eyelids, spurring him awake. His eyes flashed open, immediately snapping them shut again to avoid the pain to his eyes from the brilliant portal hovering in the middle of the room. The air was filled with static; Takato's hair was standing on end.

Henry was no longer choking Joe. He was lying on the floor, having been flung across the room to the wall with the shield, wiping away a burn mark on his skull from the discharge that had hit his forehead when the portal opened. The power imbued to him by the dark needle was the only thing that had kept him alive. Joe was lying on the floor near the door, unconscious but alive, indicated by his shallow breathing. Takato's injury quickly overcame him, and he blacked out again.

Takato pried his eyes open as a shadow appeared within the portal. A lump of flesh then fell out of the hole in the air, followed by five more. Takato's eyes flickered, and then he made out the shape of the first figure that had come from the portal. A spiky haired teenager stood up, his green school uniform brightly illuminated by the light.

"Tai?" Takato muttered weakly as his eyes fell shut again. When he was able to open them, he saw the other four figures. Yolei, the girl he had seen once before with Izzy at the Shiokaze boardwalk, was getting off of the ground. Two Digimon, a red lion-like monster and a blue rabbit, were within the group as well, while rounding out the group where too people that Takato had trouble believing were there: Iori and Jeri.

Takato's eyes closed again, and when he regained consciousness a fight had brewed. The lion was fighting with Gaomon, the rabbit with Monodramon. Tai had just bashed the heavy shield from the wall over Henry's head, knocking him out. Sora was on the stone table, desperately trying to pry the black gear out of Hawkmon's back. Yolei was in a fistfight with J.P. Iori and Jeri were untying Kudamon and Gomamon, while Kairo struggled to keep Guilmon from getting free of his bindings.

Takato tried to get up, but it was too much for him. He fell back down and passed out. He was quickly woken, however, by Tai. Tai pulled the boy to his feet and wrapped his arm around his neck for support.

"Takato, wake up, we need to move!" Tai yelled at the boy as he dragged him towards the portal. Takato struggled to keep focused while observing his surroundings and trying unsuccessfully to walk. Guilmon had finally gotten free of his bindings and had head butted Kairo, knocking him out. Iori and Jeri had freed Kudamon and Gomamon and the four were now making their way to the portal. Yolei was attempting to pick up Joe, when Guilmon arrived and instructed her to put him on his back. The lion and the rabbit had somehow won the brawl with their enemies and were going towards the portal as well. Sora was holding an unconscious Hawkmon and walking to the congregation.

"It's shrinking!" Yolei cried as she ran with Guilmon towards the portal.

"We've got to get back through it before it fully closes!" Gomamon yelled.

"Come on Takato, time to go!" Tai propped up Takato so that he was standing straight. "Takato, I need you to stand in my hands so that I can lift you up into the portal, can you do that?" He asked the half-conscious boy.

"I think so." Takato mumbled. He spotted Yolei launching first Iori and then Jeri into the portal, and then holding Joe in her arms as the lion and the rabbit shoved her upwards into the gateway. They then helped Gomamon and Kudamon into the portal, while Guilmon jumped in himself.

"Okay, let's go."Tai bent down and cupped his hands together. Takato balanced himself on Tai's shoulder and then stepped into his palms, Tai then pushed his leg upwards, and Takato jumped into the portal. He couldn't jump the entire way, but he didn't have to. Once he was halfway through the portal, some unseen force dragged him the rest of the way, pulling his legs into the white abyss. Takato then felt himself being dragged upwards at an incredibly high speed, but the feeling went away as a surge of energy pumped into him, amplifying his headache so that it reverberated through his skull, making Takato lose consciousness one last time.


	9. The Rescue

Looky here, I've just posted a chapter three days after the last one. Don't get used to it though, like I said: ton of college prep, busy summer schedule, about three hours of free time a day. On a related note, I just finished what must be my fifth and final revision of the first chapter of Piedmon's Absolution (I am an awful writer, why do you people read this crap?), so now I can start revising chapter two (and in another five months, chapter three!). So hopefully some of the more idiotic sequences (crappy Lost and SNL references, creating traumatic back stories out of thin air in true ass-pull fashion (go TVTropes!), you know what I'm talking about) will be dealt with.

**Chapter Nine: The Rescue**

**Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**12:04 A.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

"I'm ready to go." Izzy said to Yolei as he finished setting up his generating system again, after testing the battery to make sure that it had a substantial amount of power.

"Good," Yolei replied, "I think I can see Tai, Iori and Jeri heading for the elevator." She continued as she peered over the edge of the building.

"So Izzy, what's your plan for finding Takato and Joe?" Kari inquired as they waited for Tai to arrive.

"The digivices can communicate their position to each other." Izzy explained. "I'm going to use mine to get their position, and hope that when we go into the data stream that we follow the path of the connection between my digivices and Joe's."

"You hope?" Yolei spoke with a gaping mouth. "You _hope_ it works? What the hell Izzy?"

"Well it's the best plan I've got. If it doesn't work we can always use the digivices in the digital world to pinpoint their location." Izzy snapped back.

"Are you guys arguing again?" Tai asked as he walked up the stairs. "Can I not leave you alone for ten minutes?"

"Izzy's big plan is that he hopes we get dropped off where Joe and the others are." Yolei grumbled.

"We've done bigger things with a lot less hope than we have now." Tai shrugged.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Jeri inquired as the group congregated while Izzy prepared his computer program.

"We're taking you to the digital world." Tai answered. "So we can prove to you what's going on: and also rescue Takato, Joe, and that girl."

"By your own admission, isn't the digital world supposed to be dangerous?" Iori asked. "Why would you want to bring us there?"

"And by your own admission don't you believe the digital world doesn't exist?" Tai growled back. "So why would you care, if you don't think anything's going to happen anyway?"

"Nothing is going to happen!" Iori declared. "You're all crazy!"

"We'll see about that." Izzy joined in the conversation. "The program is active. In a minute we're going to the digital world."

"Did you bring your digi-eggs?" Kari asked her two friends.

"Yeah," Jeri answered, shaking the pack she had brought with her. Iori showed that he had brought a tote bag with his egg in it as well. "How did these magically appear out of the computer again?"

"It was an illusion Jeri," Iori stopped Kari from answering, "A trick of the mind."

"Izzy, Kari, you two should stay here, just in case something goes wrong and we can't get back." Tai told his sister and the boy at the computer.

"That's a good idea. We'll need someone here to be able to open a portal in case we need to go back." Izzy nodded.

"What? I want to go!" Kari groaned.

"Can we not argue about this now Kari?" Tai replied. "If something stops us from being able to come home we're going to need you and Izzy to come and rescue us."

"Fine." She murmured.

"Is it not working Izzy?" Yolei inquired. Izzy never had to answer. His digivice just then exploded with light, and a puddle shaped wormhole appeared in front of them.

"Still doubt us Iori?" Tai inquired.

"It's just a projection from Izzy's computer jeez." Iori grumbled.

"That's not how that works at all." Izzy complained.

"Well then, if it's just a hologram, then why don't you step through it?" Tai inquired.

"Fine, I will." Iori boldly walked towards the portal and stepped through, disappearing into the void.

"Agh! What happened to him?" Jeri cried.

"He's in the digital world now." Tai answered. "Or at least he's about to be. Are you coming Jeri?"

"Wha… I…" Jeri was taken aback.

"Jeri, I'm serious, we need you." Tai rested his hand on her shoulder. "You and your Digimon are one of the only things that can help save Takato right now."

"Um, okay?" Jeri was overwhelmed by the situation.

"Good, let's go." Tai started pushing her forward. "Yolei: coming?" Yolei then followed them towards the portal.

"Wait, Izzy, how are we getting back?" Yolei asked the genius quickly.

"The digivice draws most of the power it uses for digivolution from the data streams. That's how Koichi was able to access it. When you're ready to come back just activate your digivices like you're trying to get your partner to digivolve, and it should indicate where the closest data stream is. Then just keep pressing the button until the data stream breaks open from the amount of data flowing through."

"Is this another one of your plans that involves hoping your idea works?" Yolei groaned.

"…No." Izzy hesitated before grumbling back.

"Wait, maybe we should consider bringing someone with us, like the police or the military or something-woah!" Tai pushed her in, and then dived in after her.

"We'll be back!" Yolei gave Izzy and Kari a salute, and then ducked into the portal after Tai, Jeri, and Iori.

"Give them a few seconds before you turn it off," Kari told Izzy, "Just in case."

"Yeah, sure," Izzy answered. They sat for about a minute before Izzy shut down the program on his computer. The gate never shut off, however.

"What's going on?" Kari inquired.

"I don't know." Izzy answered. "The digivice must still be connected to… what the-?" Izzy gasped at something on his computer screen.

"What is it?" Kari scrambled over to him.

"It's not the computer, it's this!" Izzy drew Kari's attention to her digivice, which Izzy had borrowed from her just in case he needed it. On the digivice's screen were nine dots that indicated other digivices.

"So my digivice is connected too. What's wrong with that?" Kari inquired.

"It's not that your digivice is showing the other Digidestined's digivices, it's the number of digivices: look." Kari eyed the nine dots flashing on the small screen.

"So?" Kari didn't comprehend what was happening.

"So, Tai, Yolei, Iori, and Jeri brought their digivices with them, meaning four of those dots are them. Takato and that girl both have digivices, bringing the number up to six. If Joe happened to have his digivice with him at the time, that brings the number to seven. That means there are two to three extra digivices in the digital world and they're all within the same vicinity as our friends."

"Oh no, so the new evil Digidestined-" Kari came to a realization.

"That means the new evil Digidestined probably have our friends right now."

**The Digital World,**

**The Data Stream**

Tai opened his eyes. Bright light beamed down from above: and below, and from the sides. Tai squinted as his eyes adjusted to the brightness around him. Once he was able to see clearly, he examined his surroundings. He was in a data stream: a white tube, man-sized, filled with a weighted white mist that he preferred not to ponder about. To his right was Yolei, who was waking up at that moment. Iori and Jeri were together on his left, still passed out.

"Ugh, what's with the headache?" Yolei groaned as she sat up. "I feel like a bus just ran over my head."

"It's the data stream," Tai replied, "It's supposed to give Digimon a boost in energy but with humans it ends up giving you a bad headache instead."

"Yeah, I know, what I mean is why it is so bad? I've been in one of these things like four times, give me a break already. You don't look like your heads about to explode." Yolei was right. Tai's headache was minor, and he had the relaxed demeanor to prove it.

"I've been in these things twice as much as you have, remember," Tai answered, "I'm more used to it."

"So where do you think we are: relative to the digital world, that is?"

"I'd guess the internet." Tai replied.

"Really: the internet?" Yolei asked doubtfully.

"Well, not exactly the internet: when Izzy explained it to me again, he said it was like, a physical manifestation of the internet in the digital world that acts as a conduit and I don't know. When Izzy speaks I usually just nod my head and look pretty."

"You know I have serious doubts about if the self proclaimed geniuses of our group, Ken, Izzy, and Eric, ever really had any idea of what they were doing."

"Oh Eric was definitely just making it up as he went along, and Ken was kind of a basket case the times that I had to deal with him, but I think Izzy actually has some idea of what he's talking about. He got arrested once for cyber-terrorism you know."

"Really?"

"So much talking, so hard to sleep." Iori mumbled from his curled position under the mist. "Where am I?" He slowly rose to a seated position.

"Is he supposed to be awake?" Yolei inquired.

"I don't think so; we must have woken him up." Tai answered.

"Oh lord my head!" Iori gripped his skull and lay back down, the energy surge headache affecting him much worse than either Tai or Yolei. "Why is there so much pain? Did someone hit me?"

"No, it's just a side effect of being in the data stream." Tai told him.

"The what?" Iori groaned as he forced himself to sit up. "What's the… where are we?" Iori looked around at the odd white tube they were in.

"Like I said, we're in the data stream."

"What's the data stream, what's going on?" Iori demanded to know. Then his eyes widened as something dawned on him. "Agh, so hot, very hot!" Iori grabbed the tote bag hanging from his shoulder and threw it away from him.

"Hey, be careful, your digi-egg is in there!" Yolei lunged forward with difficulty and grabbed the bag. "Agh, hot," Yolei placed the bag down softly and then nursed the potential burn on her hand.

"Why is it so hard to stand up," Jeri groaned as she awoke from the commotion and tried to stand, "And why does my head hurt so much?" Tai and Yolei went through a similar song and dance with Jeri as they did with Iori: including the scene where she realized her back was really hot and removed her backpack and opened it to reveal a brightly glowing digi-egg.

"The data stream must be providing the digi-eggs with a lot of energy," Tai explained, "In fact, they're probably about to hatch."

"Hatch, you mean I'm about to have a giant baby chicken to take care of?" Iori whined.

"Just press the button on your digivice and see what happens." Tai replied.

"Which one?' Jeri asked as she revealed her digivice to show that there were two buttons.

"Just when we think we know all the rules they throw some miniscule thing at us to throw us off track." Yolei grumbled.

"Just press both of them." Tai told her.

"I've got it, I'm dreaming!" Iori exclaimed. "I must have knocked my head against something, which is why I've got a headache."

"Just press the damn button Iori."

"I don't have to. Now that I know I'm dreaming I can do whatever I want."

"And you want to press the button."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"… You're right I do." Iori pressed both of the buttons on his digivice, and a second later the digi-egg sitting in the tote bag in front of him, for lack of a better word, "exploded" with light, and a second later a short bipedal led lion with a metal emblem on his head stood up out of the bag and cheered.

"Yes, I have awoken!" It bellowed. "Now, where are the bad guys? I feel the need to punch something!"

"Agh!" Iori stumbled back at the sight of his new partner.

"That doesn't look like a baby Digimon to me Tai." Yolei mumbled.

"The data stream must have given it the energy to rapidly digivolve, I guess." He replied. Then, a second "explosion" occurred and the two original digidestined turned to see a white and blue rabbit with four oversized ears and a moon emblem on its chest appear standing in the backpack.

"Sister, you have been freed!" The lion joyfully marched over to the rabbit.

"Yes, brother, now who do we hit? I have been trapped in that egg for far too long." Jeri and Iori stared in awe at their two partners.

"Excuse me, but why aren't you two baby Digimon right now?" Tai asked the sentient pair in front of them.

"Hello friend!" The lion ran over to Tai and grasped his hand in a handshake (or death grip, depending on the perspective). "I am Coronamon, and to answer your question I have no idea, except that when I hatched I knew that I had been in my digi-egg for an unnaturally long period of time and that there is evil afoot!"

"Wow, go data stream." Yolei mumbled.

"Um, excuse me, what's-?" Jeri began to speak.

"Human child!" The rabbit bounced over to the girl and grabbed her in a hug. "I am Lunamon, your partner, and I am so excited to see you!"

"Friend whose name I do not know, how goes it?" Coronamon bounced over to the terrified boy, who was too frozen in fear to speak.

_Justadreamjustadreamjustadream._

"What I mean to say is "how are you?" Coronamon dropped his heavy palms on Iori's shoulders and smiled. Iori stared at him for a few seconds before finally choking out a reply.

"Hi."

"Is it getting brighter in here?" Yolei asked to no one in particular. She was right; the high degree of light in the room was becoming more intense. A ringing noise soon began to accompany the light.

"I think we're almost there." Tai spoke as it became too bright to see clearly. "Close your eyes and brace yourself: we're about to land in the digital world." Tai instructed, and then followed his own orders.

"Land, what do you mean land?" Iori fervently inquired as he followed Tai's orders and rolled himself into a ball.

"Alas, I am blinded!" Coronamon cried out as the light became too bright for anyone to distinguish shapes.

Tai was forced to cover his ears as the ringing amplified as well. The combination of the light burning through his eyelids and the ringing penetrating his ear drums almost caused him to black out. Then it was over. He was no longer sitting in a stream of what was most likely dead Digimon data. The light wasn't around him anymore, and it was silent. Then he realized why that was; he was falling. Tai opened his eyes just in time to see the stone floor he was dropping towards, and landed with a thud. Disoriented, Tai lay on the ground for a few seconds, until his eyes became adjusted to the darkness around him.

Then, he stood up and looked around. What he saw first confused him and then shocked him. He was standing in a black room, illuminated only by the portal that was hovering above him. In front of him was Takato, lying on the floor. Beyond him was the girl with the bowl hat that had been taken to the digital world along with Takato and Joe. Joe was next to the girl, leaning against the wall, unconscious. Next to them were three Digimon: Joe's Gomamon, a large red dinosaur, and what looked to be some sort of snake-like fox.

A few thuds drew Tai's attention to his right, where Yolei, Iori, Jeri, and the two Digimon had just arrived from the wormhole. Tai then noticed the two boys standing nearest them. One was a larger boy who Tai recognized as the one who had confronted them in the Royal Knight's citadel. It was at that point that Tai realized something was wrong. Standing next to the boy in blue was a dirty haired kid that Tai could swear was Takato's cousin, Kairo.

A groan sounded from behind him, and Tai turned to see a pale Chinese boy stand up against the back wall. He looked strangely familiar to Tai, but he couldn't place it. Then it came to him. Memories flooded into his head: memories of being chased by a bloodthirsty Kuwagamon, of Greymon being beaten into the side of a mountain, of Gatomon flinging herself through the air to intercept the insect and protect Kari and him. But most of all, Tai remembered the cackling, the laughter that accompanied the form that was taking absolute pleasure over trying to destroy them.

"Henry." Tai whispered.

"Help!" The girl with the bowl hat on her head then exclaimed, drawing Tai's attention.

"Grab them!" Henry exclaimed from the back wall. The boy in blue and the Kairo look-alike then ran towards him to attack.

"Coronamon, Lunamon, time to fight!" Tai exclaimed, drawing the two Digimon's attentions.

"Excellent!" Coronamon ran forward and grabbed the fist that Kairo look-alike had drawn towards them and used it to fling the boy away. Look-alike crashed into the wall behind the three Digimon that were tied up.

"Kairo!" A dragon-like Digimon that Tai had not seen before then lunged towards Coronamon in attack mode.

"No you don't!" Yolei kicked the boy in blue in the stomach, knocking him over and stopping him from colliding with Tai. Lunamon then lunged towards the dragon Digimon, wrestling it to the ground while Coronamon fought off another previously unseen Digimon: the bipedal dog that Tai recognized as the boy in blue's partner. With four of their enemies now distracted, Tai ran towards Takato to see if he was alright. He then noticed the bowl hat girl running through the fray towards a small hawk Digimon on the table.

"Iori, Jeri, free those Digimon!" Tai ordered the boy and girl, who were standing uselessly in the middle of the room, to Gomamon and the fox, who were struggling to get free, while the dinosaur was on top of Look-alike, stopping him from joining the rest of the fight. _Somebody's going to have to tell me what's going on here_, he thought to himself. Before he could reach Takato, however, someone grabbed the back of Tai's shirt and pulled him backwards, flinging him into the back wall under a large shield.

"Ow." Tai groaned as he got to his feet.

"I guess I'll just have to kill you first!" Henry barked as he marched towards Tai. Tai couldn't respond in time before Henry gripped his throat and started choking him. Tai tried to fight back, put quickly felt his strength start to fade. He realized Henry was doing more than just choking him as he began to black out, and immediately reached for the only object within reach to help him: the shield hanging on the wall above him.

Tai grabbed the bottom of the shield and pushed it off of its mount. The weight of the heavy shield did the rest. Tai guided it as the shield flew down and crashed into Henry's head, who was too preoccupied with trying to kill Tai to see what he was doing. Henry collapsed onto the floor, the black shield on top of him, freeing Tai. He then continued what he was doing before, and ran towards Takato to check on him.

"Takato, wake up, we need to move!" Tai yelled as he pulled the boy up to his feet and wrapped Takato's arms around his own shoulders. A scream sounded behind him, and Tai turned quickly to see that bowl hat girl had just pulled some dark object out of the hawk's back, causing it to scream. Tai then started walking towards the portal, which was fortunately still open. Their excursion into the digital world was going to be quick. Fortunately the others had the same idea. Iori, Jeri, Gomamon, the fox, Coronamon, and Lunamon were all running for the portal, while Yolei and the dinosaur were taking Joe to the same location.

"We should get out of here while there is still time!" Yolei yelled to Tai, "The portal: it's shrinking!"

"Come on Takato, time to go." Tai propped up Takato so that he was standing straight. "Takato, I need you to stand on my hands so that I can lift you up into the portal, can you do that?" He asked the half-conscious boy.

"I think so." Takato mumbled. Tai sighed with relief as he made his way to the rest of the group. Yolei had just helped Iori and Jeri into the portal, and now had picked up Joe in her arms to jump in herself. Coronamon and Lunamon helped by cupping their hands and giving Yolei a boost. Gomamon and the fox were then thrown in next, while the dinosaur jumped in himself.

"Okay, let's go." Tai bent down and cupped his hands together. Takato, balancing himself on Tai's shoulder, then stepped into Tai's palms, and Tai pushed Takato's leg upwards. Takato jumped into the portal and was pulled in.

"Okay, your turn." Coronamon said to Tai.

"Can you two get in yourself?" Tai asked them.

"We are Digimon, what do you think?" Lunamon replied sarcastically.

"Right, thanks," Tai then used their cupped hands to jump into the portal. He was immediately immersed in an intense white light that overwhelmed his senses and made him lose consciousness, if only for a minute.

Tai awoke to find himself back in the data stream, his headache almost nonexistent. He then looked around. Everything seemed to be in order. Coronamon and Lunamon were to his right, struggling to stand up. The bowl hat girl was next to them, asleep, while the bird she was holding was slowly stirring awake. Takato was asleep right next to him. To his left, in that order, were the dinosaur, Gomamon and the fox, Yolei, Joe, Jeri, and Iori.

"Is everyone alive?" Yolei groaned in exhaustion.

"I believe we have all survived to see another day!" Coronamon cheered. "Except for the lanky blue haired boy; he looks as if he had the life drained from him!"

"And you're excited about that?" Yolei asked angrily.

"No, I just feel invigorated!"

"Joe, wake up!" Gomamon was now next to his partner, trying to shake him awake.

"Let him rest Gomamon. He's going to be okay." Yolei tried to calm the Digimon.

"You didn't see what they did to him!" Gomamon barked. Your lion friend says he looks like he had the life drained out of him? That's exactly what happened. Henry grabbed his throat and then Joe started to shrivel up like a raisin!"

"He did the same thing to me." Tai sighed. "I'm curious to know how the heck he learned to do that. Also I'd like to know why I couldn't remember Henry until just a few minutes ago."

"Joe and I couldn't remember him either until we stared at him for a minute," Gomamon began, "But apparently when you've had a Dark Needle festering within you for four years it makes you super powerful. It also makes you go ape shit crazy, but that's beside the point."

"I'm sorry it took us so long to get there," Yolei said, "We were trying for hours to open a portal, but we couldn't until about 10 minutes ago. Sorry we made you wait an extra year but we needed to get Iori and Jeri so we'd have their partner Digimon.

"An extra year, what are you talking about?" Gomamon inquired.

"You know, the whole 10 earth minutes equals 1 digi-year, that whole thing."

"I know that's the way it's supposed to be, but you guys got here only a few hours after Joe, Takato, and Sora got here."

"A few hours, are you serious?" Tai exclaimed. "How long has it been since we left the digital world the first time?"

"Four years, like I said."

"The digital world is supposed to move through time much faster than Earth, what happened?"

"I don't know, but lucky for us it did happen: otherwise there wouldn't have been anyone for you to rescue."

"Excuse me, spiky haired boy," The dinosaur waved his paw to get Tai's attention. "Sorry to interrupt, but is Takato okay? I'd check myself but I'm kind of stuck."

"He's mostly fine," Tai answered the dinosaur, "I can't be sure though. I'm guessing he took a pretty bad blow to the head the only one we have that's close to a doctor is in a lot worse condition than he is."

"What are we supposed to do when we get back Tai," Yolei changed the subject, "We've got two people who are seriously wounded and six Digimon to deal with; and we don't even know how Digimon are going to react to being on Earth. Energy is just energy there, not data; they'll be completely out of place."

"I don't know what to do about the Digimon, but first things first: we're getting Joe and Takato to a hospital. They're in the most danger right now."

**Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**12:21 A.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

All night, Takato had been cold. After leaving the warmth of the blazing inferno feeding off of the shack on top of Infinity Mountain, Takato had been shivering for lack of heat. The room he had been stashed in on the Brimpmon was made of a cold steel that he had been forced to sit in for hours. The boat-ride had constantly sprayed surf onto his back. The building where he had almost died was made of concrete and had no insulation to speak of.

But now he was freezing. A frosty air was biting at his arms and neck. A moderate wind was amplifying the feeling. It was so out of place from what he had been experiencing before. In all the locations he had been to in the digital world, it was cold, but it was a summer cold. His suffering came from constant exposure. Now, he felt as if he were back in the winter climate of Tokyo.

That's what woke Takato up. It wasn't the whispers of his friends. It wasn't the howling of the wind. It wasn't the rough concrete he was sitting on or the fact that he was propped up and leaning against a wall. It was the cold. It wasn't bad either. The summer cold of the digital world had been odd, distant, unnatural, but the cold he felt now was so familiar, he was relieved, for he knew he was home.

Takato opened his eyes. He examined his surroundings. He was on top of a building, he didn't know why, but he saw the lights of Tokyo in the distance. In front of him was Tai, Kari, Yolei, Sora, Iori, and Jeri, all talking in a low tone. It seemed as if they had just decided on something. At that moment Yolei, Iori, Jeri, and Sora then moved away from the rest of the group. Sora, Iori, and Jeri whispered something to someone Takato couldn't see, and then the four walked away. Takato turned his head and saw them walking down a flight of stairs.

"Hey, people, what's happening?" Takato groaned weakly.

"Takato!" Tai and Kari exclaimed in unison at the sight of their awoken friend.

"I don't suppose someone would mind telling me where we are, would they?"

"We're on top of my building Takato," Tai answered, "We just brought you back from the digital world."

"Any thoughts as to how that works exactly?"

"We'll talk about it later Takato. Right now we need to get you to a hospital."

"What? That's not necessary I feel fine." Takato waved Tai away and tried to stand up: unsuccessfully. He stumbled back onto the ground and almost bashed his head against the penthouse garage had Kari not grabbed him.

"Yeah, the image of perfect health you are." Tai said sarcastically.

"Well what are you going to tell my parents?" Takato asked tiredly. "Oh hey, Mr. and Mrs. Matsuki, Takato just had a little tumble after trying to save his friend from a life sucking demon in an alternate dimension, nothing to worry about."

"We've already come up with a cover story," Tai replied, "Your parents think you're at our house and it won't be too much of a stretch to get our parents to believe that you came over after dinner and spent the night, then fell off of the top bunk after you fell asleep. Now stop arguing."

"Your parent's can be a bit clueless sometimes Tai but I don't think they're stupid. Where's Joe?" Takato inquired.

"Izzy already took him to St. Lukes. Now that's where you need to go. But we need to get you downstairs okay?"

"Okay…" Takato seemed oblivious to everything Tai had just said. Then he passed out again.

**St. Luke's Internation Hospital**

**Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**1:09 A.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

There plan went off with little problems. After convincing Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya that Takato had come over while he was in the bathroom and she was dealing with files in the bedroom, Susumu and Tai took Takato to the hospital (after Tai and his sister had difficultly dragged him into their bedroom through the window), called Takato's parents, and arrived at St. Luke's within the hour. A relatively short wait found Takato getting a CT scan while the Kamiyas and Matsukis waited nervously in the waiting room.

In that time, Kari got a call from Yolei on her cell phone. Yolei filled Kari in on her end of the plan. She had dropped off Iori and Jeri and they snuck back into their rooms. Yolei had then brought Sora home and gave them an elaborate and confusing explanation as to why their daughter was out so late. Sora's parents had accepted Yolei's explanation reluctantly, and now she was heading home. The Digimon were hiding in the Kamiyas penthouse garage, with Gomamon doing his best to keep them behaved until the next day.

As Tai sat in the waiting room, he saw Izzy walk passed him, nudging his head towards the vending machines in the back of the room. Tai waited a few seconds before excusing himself from the group and going over to his friend.

"How's Joe?" Tai asked as he slowly withdrew his wallet to retrieve some money.

"The doctors said he looked like he hadn't eaten or slept for weeks. Needless to say they didn't believe me when I told them that someone had beaten him up." Izzy responded.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"They said if we had brought him in a day or so later, there wouldn't have been much they could have done for him. He's almost dead."

"Thanks to Henry." Said Tai.

"Yeah, thanks to Henry. How does that work again?" Asked Izzy.

"I don't know. Like I said, when Henry grabbed my throat, I felt like all of my energy was being taken away. Gomamon said that Henry told them that it was because of the dark needle that's been inside him for four years."

"But Ken, Yolei, and all of them were all in the digital world for a hundred years with the dark needle inside them, and they never had the ability to do something like that."

"But those hundred years were the equivalent of only 16 hours in Earth time. You said it yourself that the human body reacts like it was on Earth. If it only takes 16 hours on Earth for the dark needle to spread completely throughout the body, then imagine what it could do in four years." Tai reasoned.

"We don't have to imagine. Joe's living proof of what it can do." Izzy agreed. "The repercussions for this are a lot worse than Henry having super powers though."

"Like the fact that somehow we completely forgot he existed and didn't remember until we saw him again? Or how about the fact that not only is his only goal to kill us all, but he has the ability to do it with his bare hands?"

"I was thinking beyond the scope of Henry, Tai. The digital world is supposed to move through time at a rate of one year to ten minutes, but somehow it's only been four years there: the same here."

"Meaning something made it change."

"There's also the question of how he was able to create a dark needle to infect two other digidestined." Izzy added. "Not only that, but why were those two chosen as Digidestined? Did the Royal Knights turn the destined key when Henry appeared? Or did something else make that happen?"

"There are too many things to think about now." Tai sighed. "We need to focus on Joe and Takato at the moment, and worry about everything else later."

"We can't Tai."

"Why not?"

"Because according to Sora and Gomamon, the evil Digidestined control File Island: meaning they also control Primary Village."

"Making our partners vulnerable to them as digi-eggs: but what stopped Devimon from doing that to the Royal Knights the first time?"

"According to Leopardmon the Digimon from the metropolis had established a base at the village, and he checked up on the village daily to make sure it was okay."

"They don't have that kind of protection now though, do they?"

"No, they don't. We need to get back there as soon as possible Tai, because if we don't, our partners are going to be killed again, and I'm betting that if Henry has anything to say about it, this time it will be for good."


	10. Tokyo

Almost every review I've gotten from Oapekay (and that one by Shadow of the Kyuubi) has had me answer about three billion questions regarding Kalypso and Absolution. Well, it occurs to me that some others might want to know the answers to those questions as well, so I'm creating a section on my profile that answers them. So, if you ask a question in a review or e-mail, I'll respond to you personally, but I'll also put the answer in the new section for others to see (unless it's super personal, in which case it's a little bit creepy that you'd be putting it in a review anyway and I'll probably be inclined to ignore you). The new section should be up in a couple of days (say May 3rd).

**Chapter Ten: Tokyo**

**Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**3:45 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

Tai sat cross legged at the edge of the roof, letting the wind wash over his face.

"Enjoying being three inches away from death?" Izzy Izumi asked from behind.

"How do you figure that?" Tai inquired.

"Scoot forward a little; see what happens." Izzy replied.

"You're funny. What's up?"

"It's almost time for the big group pow-wow. Is there any news on Takato?"

"The doctors just wanted to keep him overnight for observation. There wasn't any permanent damage, miraculously enough. What about Joe?"

"I wish I could say the same thing," Izzy replied, "His condition hasn't improved much from last night, and the doctors haven't been able to contact his family."

"Don't we know anything about Joe's personal life other than his name?"

"All anyone knows is that he's Joe Kido: and finding his family in one of the biggest cities in the world based entirely off of that one last name isn't going to get us anywhere anytime soon." Izzy answered.

"Damn..." Tai mumbled.

"What about his digivice?" Izzy's eyes lit up.

"What do you mean?" Tai responded.

"Joe didn't have his digivice with him when he went to the digital world," Izzy explained, "So he probably left it at home. We can use our digivices to pick up his signal, and then find his house!"

"That's a great idea Izzy!" Tai jumped up, careful to stay away from the edge. "I'll go do that: you meet the others up here in fifteen minutes."

"Wait, I was going to do it." Izzy replied as Tai started for the stairs.

"You have to inform everybody about your efforts to get back to the digital world: besides, you're better at the technical stuff than I am."

"But, we made you leader. You don't just get to cop out of that position at any time you know!" Tai was now walking down the stairs, ignoring Izzy's gestures to stop.

"I know Izzy, and as leader I'm delegating you to do the meeting while I go find Joe's house. Oh, and let the Digimon out, would you?"

"You didn't let them out?" Izzy called to Tai as he disappeared down the stairs.

"I was going to!" Tai yelled back in a fading voice.

"You're an awful person!" Tai was now gone. Izzy rolled his eyes and walked over to the penthouse garage, where Tai had left the key. "Stupid Tai, leaving me to do a meeting, he knows I'm not good with people." Tai unlocked the garage and lifted the door up. A pile of Digimon then fell out of the cramped garage.

"What took you so long?" Gomamon gasped as he crawled out of the pile of Digimon that was sprawled in front of the garage door. "I heard talking out there!"

"Tai forgot to let you out." Izzy answered quickly.

"Damn him." Gomamon gasped. "They're like a group of children: it was awful."

"Aren't four of them actual children?" Izzy asked.

"Hey, my age of one day does not call for you to have fun at my expense!" Coronamon yelled as he stumbled out of the pile.

"Yeah, what he said!" Guilmon cheered obliviously.

"Coronamon, kindly remove your foot from your mouth if you will." Lunamon grumbled to her "brother".

"I don't understand." Coronamon cocked his head.

"They aren't insulting you ingrate, they were merely stating a fact!"

"For the record, I was insulting you." Gomamon mumbled.

"Do you see his rudeness?" Coronamon cried. "I shall smite you down you odd sea monster!" Coronamon lunged for Gomamon.

"Brother no!" Lunamon intercepted her brother and wrestled him to the ground. "He is an ally you fool!"

"Do you see what I've had to put up with?" Gomamon murmured to Izzy.

"Okay, despite the fact that you seem to want to kill each other, it seems like all of you survived your first night in the real world just fine." Izzy sighed.

"Well why wouldn't we?" Guilmon inquired.

"There was a slight chance your bodies would have an issue transitioning to energy that isn't combined with data."

"What does that mean large headed child?" Coronamon announced.

"It means we could have died you idiot." Gomamon answered.

"Do not threaten me again fish thing!" Coronamon struggled to get to Gomamon, but Lunamon kept him pinned down.

"Brother, do not fight with him, he will kick your shiny red buttocks!" Lunamon grunted.

"Why do you talk like that?" Guilmon inquired.

"It makes us feel unique, like we're not some stock supporting characters without any actual personalities of our own!" Lunamon responded.

"Hey, aren't we missing somebody?" Izzy scanned the group of Digimon.

"It's Hawkmon," Kudamon, who had been sitting quietly in the middle of the group, answered, "He's in the back." Kudamon nodded towards the garage. While Coronamon and Gomamon continued to squabble, Izzy crawled into the back of the garage to see the Digimon Hawkmon sleeping behind the motorcycle.

"Hey, Hawkmon, you okay back here?" Izzy asked as he shook the feathered monster awake.

"Oh, Mr. Izumi, yes I'm fine." Hawkmon replied as he rose to a seated position. "Yesterday was just rather hectic for me and today I find myself unusually tired."

"Hey Kudamon!" Someone outside cheered gleefully. Izzy helped Hawkmon out from behind the vehicle and they both exited the garage to see Kudamon perching itself on Sora's shoulder, who had just arrived. Yolei and Kari were walking behind her.

"We passed Tai on the elevator," Yolei said to Izzy, "He said you had found a way to find Joe's parents?"

"It's a whole thing with the digivice. Tai's got it covered." Izzy replied.

"And how is Joe?"

"Not much better than he was doing last night," Izzy answered, "He's still in critical condition. I think the doctors were feeling comfortable that he was going to make it out of it, though."

"Fortunately Takato's doing better," Kari interjected, "He's at home with his parents now."

"Yeah, Tai told me." Izzy replied. "Where are Iori and Jeri?"

"I don't know," Yolei answered, "But I'd imagine Iori has convinced himself that everything that happened last night was a dream."

"I resent that." Someone grumbled from behind. The group of humans and Digimon turned to see Iori and Jeri walking up the stairs.

"That's a fast elevator." Izzy mumbled.

"Iori! Friend! Brother!" Coronamon cheered as he continued his struggle to free himself from the clutches of Lunamon, as Gomamon continued his childish taunts of raspberries and cackling at Coronamon's lack of mobility. "Help me by teaching this mammalian, amphibian, fish, thing a lesson he will not soon forget!"

"Um, I'd, rather not." Iori mumbled.

"Alas, my own partner takes the side of my rival! Oof!" Coronamon stopped struggling as Lunamon head butted him in the back of his skull.

"Nobody will take your side while you are acting like a buffoon." Lunamon said calmly as she walked away from Coronamon's dazed body. "Jeri, how are you friend?" Lunamon then bounced to her partner and grasped the girl's waist in a hug. "You are very tall, and hugging you is very awkward!"

"Iori!" Coronamon jumped up, stumbled towards Iori, and then fell back over in front of his partner's feet. "Help would be greatly appreciated."

"Are you okay?" Iori picked up his dazed partner by his underarms and looked him in the face.

"Yes, though I fear my oversized mouth may have had a hand in me falling out of favor with the others."

"I think we both have that problem." Iori lamented.

"Yes, further proof of our close bond by revealing the similarities between our personalities!" Coronamon cheered.

"That's weird, Takato's nothing like me." Guilmon pondered. "He doesn't seem to like bread or fish or fighting crazy bad guys at all."

"Listen, Izzy," Iori put down his partner and walked over to the boy," I wanted to apologize. I realize how rude I was before, about Takato disappearing, even though you were completely right, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Yeah, we really kind of put our feet in our mouths yesterday." Jeri chimed in.

"It's okay; you didn't have any reason to believe that what we were saying was the truth." Izzy replied as he rested his arm on Iori's shoulder.

"Yeah, but we didn't have to be so awful to you about it." Jeri faked a cough. "I mean, I didn't have to be so awful to you about it." Iori corrected himself.

"It's okay; we can put it behind us. The important thing now is that you two know what's going on here. An entire world is at stake here, and if we want to save it we're going to need you two to help. Are you accepting of that?"

"Of course!" Iori urged. "When all I heard was talk of the digital world I thought you were all crazy, but then I went there and I saw what was going on. There were real people and Digimon in danger, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if there was something I could do about it and I just ran away."

"Oh." Izzy replied, partially shocked. "You too?" He asked Jeri. She nodded with determined eyes. "You realize how much better they are than us right?" He leaned over to Yolei and whispered.

"Better than you maybe," Yolei answered.

"What?"

"We jumped right in there when the Digimon asked us to help the first time Izzy. We didn't beat around the bush trying to figure out if it was the right thing to do."

"We didn't… wait, you were evil!"

"Not at first and not by choice."

"So we were the only ones who were hesitant." Izzy sighed.

"I don't know where you got 'we' from." Kari said in irritation. "I was all for helping them when we got here. I just wanted to know if there was an army or something that could help us."

"So you weren't, but the others-"

"I can't speak for Joe, but T.K. told me he didn't feel right leaving the Digimon to fend for themselves, and my brother talks big but the second he got there he knew that he was going to end up helping them."

"Does anyone know what they're talking about?" Sora asked Iori, Jeri, and the Digimon quietly, who had all gathered together outside of the original Digidestined's conversation. Everyone shrugged. "Did you get your chess board back?"

"Yeah, thanks, it was an expensive set." Iori whispered back.

"So pretty much I was the only one who was a jerk-ass about helping the Digimon?" Izzy inquired much to his dismay.

"Well Rika too," Said Kari, "She definitely didn't want to have anything to do with anyone."

"Oh great, I feel so much better."

**Matsuki Residence**

**Shinjuku Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**4:30 P.M: January 12****th****,**** 2010**

Kairo sighed with relief as he finished his adjustments to the machine. The batch of wiring he had purchased (and used to replace older wiring from the same batch during his troubleshooting process) had been faulty, and didn't conduct electricity properly, hence the overheating problem. Now he sat back in his chair and looked over the design plans for the modifications to the digivice, which allowed both he and J.P. to be in the digital world at the same time. Henry had pressured him to fix it early, and there were still some issues to be had, but now Kairo had the time to fully adjust the device until it was working properly.

The doorbell rang. Kairo only noted it because it was so odd. Visitors usually did not come to the house. Kairo shrugged and chalked it up to a solicitor or something similar. He continued examining the schematics. Some mumbling could be heard out in the family room. It lasted for a few minutes. _It must be one of Mom or Dad's friends,_ Kairo thought. _Wait, do Mom and Dad have any friends?_ Then somebody walked towards his door. Kairo almost shrugged it off again, but his paranoia got the better of him. He shoved his digivice and schematics in his desk drawer and threw the large sheet over his machine, hiding it from plain view. Then his door opened.

"Hi Kairo." Takato Matsuki walked inside and closed the door behind him. He was carrying a backpack, and set it down on Kairo's bed.

"What are you doing here?" Kairo snarled.

"I just wanted to come and say hello," Takato shrugged, "Se what's going on with my aunt, uncle, and cousin: anything new in your life?"

"Nothing much: you?" Kairo replied sarcastically.

"Really? You don't have any new projects going on? No sports, hobbies, inter-universal travel, terrorism?"

"What do you hope to accomplish here Takato?" Kairo growled.

"I just wanted to talk to my cousin Kairo, away from the pressures of his axe crazy friends. What's your partner's name by the way?"

"That's none of your business."

"Hey, he tried to kill me. The least you owe me is the pleasure of knowing his name. You know, 'know your enemy'." Takato smiled. "What's under there?" He pointed to the white blanket covering the portal. Kairo didn't answer however. He lunged forward towards Takato. Takato backed into the wall to avoid what he was sure was a fist to the face, but Kairo instead slammed his palm into the wall besides Takato's head, his eyes now a few inches from Takato's. Then he laughed. Kairo let out a triumphant-like cackle and backed away from Takato.

"You're not going to get anything from me Takato. Not, why I'm doing this, or how Henry got how he is, or anything of the sort. So either come up with a better excuse to be here or get out of my room. I've work to do."

""Like I said Kairo," Takato sighed, "I just wanted to come and talk. Speaking of which, we'll have a bunch of time to talk at dinner tonight."

"Excuse me?" Kairo's smile disappeared. He turned to his cousin, who had turned around and was putting his backpack on. He then slowly turned back face to face with Kairo.

"I convinced my parents that it would be a good idea to invite you all over tonight to eat at the restaurant. My Mom's preparing the whole thing: I hope you like it." With that, Takato opened the door to Kairo's room and exited, closing it behind him.

"Crap."

**Some Random Location**

**Some Unimportant Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**5:00 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

"Hi, is this Joe Kido's residence?"

"No, sorry."

"Do you know which apartment he does live in?"

"No, sorry."

"Thanks anyway."

"Sure."

This was the conversation that Tai had with every single door he had knocked upon within the building. One apartment complex, five floors, and 20 doors to a floor: he was on floor three, room 17. But this was where his digivice indicated there was another digivice. Joe lived somewhere here, and he was going to find his building. His parents needed to know where their son was. They must have been worried sick. But Tai would find them. In the meantime, he knocked on another door.

"Hi, is this Joe Kido's residence?"

"No, sorry."

"Do you know which apartment he does live in?"

"No, sorry."

"Oh, thanks anyway."

Tai knocked on another door.

"Hi, is this Joe Kido's residence?"

"No, sorry."

"Do you know which apartment he does live in?"

"I don't know if there is a Joe Kido in this building," The resident of door number 19, a middle aged woman, answered. "Hey J.P., do you know if someone named Joe Kido lives in the building?" She turned away from the door to ask the question, exposing the couch in her room. On the couch was a boy, with short and spiky brown hair, and a full blue jumpsuit.

"Joe Kido?" The boy turned his head. Tai got a complete look at the guy. The apartment was very well lit, and the sun was blocked by the clouds. "I don't think so Mom." J.P., the Digidestined, answered. There was no mistaking it. Tai clearly remembered that face. The two times he had seen him may have been short, but they burned the memory into his head.

"Oh, thanks anyway Junpei." The woman turned back to Tai. "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong building."

"Thanks anyway ma'am," Tai nodded. As he spoke, J.P. turned his way. The woman closed the door, but Tai couldn't tell if J.P. had seen him. He had to hope for the best. Once the door was closed, Tai got a look at the sign hanging on the façade.

Shibayama

_Junpei Shibayama_, Tai thought to himself, _the evil Digidestined. That explains the digivice signal. I wasn't tracking Joe, I was tracking J.P. So that means I haven't gotten Joe's digivice within range yet._ Tai then rapidly clicked the button on his digivice, a trick that he learned would quickly zoom in and then out of the screen so that it would cover more ground. He zoomed out of the current location, which focused on J.P.'s digivice, until a second blip appeared on the screen. _This is Joe_, Tai thought, and then headed off. Then he stopped, realizing he needed to do something. He dug a pencil and a piece of paper out of his pocket, and wrote down J.P.'s full name and address, and then proceeded down the stairs so he could locate the home of Joe Kido.

**Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**5:30 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

Izzy flipped through the phone book. He was looking for the name of someone, anyone, who was a Digidestined. He had remembered the last names of every Digidestined he had met in the digital world, so trying to find them should have been an easy task: if it wasn't Tokyo. He had no way of knowing if one of the five thousand Ishidas in the phone book was Matt and T.K.'s father or if it was just someone else with that name. Furthermore, few of the Digidestined lived in Tokyo, and no one had been smart enough to give each other their numbers and addresses before they all left the digital world.

The only destined that Izzy had ever had contact with on Earth were the destined up on the roof right now (as well as Takato and Tai), and Eric and Zoe. But they were in America and Italy, respectively, and trying to locate one 16-17 year old individual in a country as populous as those two was not an easy task: and once again, neither one of them had the thought to leave Izzy a way to contact them. This discouraged Izzy. He gave up his desperate search. He was hoping he could find the address of one of the Digidestined, if they had moved to Tokyo, to help with the current situation. But there was no way to locate them. The Tokyo group was on its own.

"Izzy," His mother opened the door to his room and called to him, "You have a friend at the door: another one."

"Wow, who knew I was so popular?" Izzy shrugged innocently to try and throw his mother off of the scent. While Mrs. Izumi didn't have a problem with her son making friends, the fact that he now had about 7 on his second day of school, constantly calling him or knocking on the door, she had a reason to be suspicious.

Izzy arrived at the door to see Takato standing there, looking no worse for wear. "Hey, Takato, you're looking not beat up."

"Yeah, it's a miracle, isn't it? Hey, can you meet me up at Tai's place," He said for the benefit of Izzy's mother, "I wanted to show you something."

"Yeah, just a second," Izzy went back inside and put on his shoes, then followed Takato down the hall and up the stairs. They walked up a few flights to arrive at the roof, where Yolei, Kari, Sora, Iori, Jeri, and the Digimon were.

"Takato, hey, you're alright!" Sora cheered at the sight of her ally.

"Takato!" Guilmon immediately sprang up and rushed for the boy. Takato, realizing what was about to happen, jumped out of the way and narrowly avoided a collision with his partner as the dinosaur came screeching to a halt.

"Do you want me to have to go back to the hospital?" Takato asked his partner as the Digimon came up to him and shoved his nuzzle playfully into Takato's stomach.

"Sorry Takato. I was just so excited. We were really worried about you."

"Yeah, I can tell, but right now we should focus on the task at hand." Takato then opened his backpack and pulled out a video camera. "Here." He handed it to Izzy, who opened the screen and played the tape with a perplexed look on his face.

"What is this?" Izzy inquired as he watched the video of a dark room, sans the sound. "Do I not get to hear the audio?"

"The audio isn't important. That's Kairo's room."

"Who?"

"Kairo. My cousin."

"As fascinating as that sounds I don't see how this applies to anything going on up here." Izzy said dryly.

"What do you mean, he's- didn't- didn't anybody tell them?" Takato leaned over to be in Sora and the Digimon's field of view.

"About what?" Sora asked.

"About what? How about how Kairo's- you know what, never mind." Takato grumbled. "Izzy, when we were in the Digital world, we were confronted by the three the evil Digidestined, and one of them was my cousin."

"Kai's evil!" Kari proclaimed.

"No, not Kai, Kairo." Takato corrected her.

"Oh, that's less surprising." Kari murmured.

"That's my cousin you're talking about Kari." Takato grumbled.

"Wait, you have a cousin named Kai and another cousin named Kairo?" Izzy inquired.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Well that's just weird."

"Listen, can we get back on topic?" Takato grumbled in frustration. "My cousin is evil! Can we do something about that?"

"What'd you have in mind?" Izzy asked.

"Kairo and his parents are coming over to our house for dinner tonight. So his house will be completely empty."

"Oh," Izzy's eyes perked up.

"And look at the video," Takato pointed at the screen, "See the large white blanket? What do you think is under there?"

"They have to be using something to go to and from the digital world," Izzy said mostly to himself, "And considering my method uses up more power than playing an fps on a laptop, I'd imagine that they would have to have something more permanent around."

"Are you seriously suggesting we break into your cousin's house and then steal from him?" Yolei asked in shock.

"No," Takato answered as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a key, "I'm suggesting you take this key and open the door to my cousin's house, and then steal from him." He gave the key to Izzy.

"Works for me," Izzy shrugged and put the key in his pocket.

"Do none of you have ethics?" Yolei cried.

"He's evil!" Izzy said in an obvious tone.

**Some Other Random Location**

**Some Other Unimportant Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**6:30 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

Tai departed from the subway station, and preceded up the stairs to the city streets. This had been the third exchange he had made that day: but he was almost there. The indicator on his digivice showed that Joe's digivice was getting closer. Standing in the empty city street, he looked forward to see a suburb ahead. _This must be where Joe lives_. He began to run forward, the device in his hand.

"Going somewhere?" Somebody yelled behind Tai. Tai stopped running, the voice he heard grating to him. He turned around to see the one person he was hoping wasn't there: J.P.

"So you noticed me, huh?" Tai laughed nervously.

"It was hard not to," J.P. replied, "With those goggles your hair stands out more than Yugi Moto's."

"Really, with the anime references?"

"It's called obligatory for a reason."

"So what's about to happen here J.P.?" Tai sighed. "Are you really going to attack me, out here, in the open, in the real world no less?" He scoffed. "I don't know if you've noticed, but you're at a serious disadvantage here."

"I'm not going to do it, Tai." J.P. snapped his fingers, and a bipedal blue dog walked out from behind him. "He is."

"Crap."

* * *

(This is called an author's note) Also, regarding my ongoing effort to revise Absolution based on the numerous contradictions and ridiculous plot points which I've written that occur to me every so often (as well as implementing the mad writing skills I've learned from TVTropes dot org), I'll be interested to know of anything in Absolution any of you had a problem with, so if I don't know about it I can either fix it, or tell you to stop whining about small things you don't like and to suck it up (Although I'm an awful writer, so it'll probably be the former). The message: Review! Give Oapekay and RazenX a break, so they don't feel obligated to review every chapter out of pity! (At least that's what I assume their reasoning is due to my low opinion of myself).


	11. Tokyo, the Sequel

**Chapter Eleven: Tokyo, the Sequel**

**Some Random Location**

**Some Unimportant Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**6:32 P.M: January 12th, 2010**

Tai stood before J.P. as Gaomon slinked out from behind the latter, revealing the newfound futility of Tai's situation. Tai now had to face off against a Digimon: a rookie Digimon, but still, trying to stop him would be-

"Wait, where did he come from?" Tai asked J.P. confounded.

"Um, from behind my back- I thought that was obvious." J.P. replied in a confused tone.

"Yeah but he was completely concealed, and you had to walk up here, so what did he do: follow your every footstep and twitch so he'd be perfectly hidden until you summoned him?" Tai inquired.

"I don't-!" J.P. grumbled. "Don't you think you might have more important things to worry about?"

"Well it's just weird." Tai shrugged.

"Just- shut up!" J.P. barked. "Gaomon get him."

"Ah crap." Tai turned around and started to run away as Gaomon began to chase after him.

"Double Backhand!" Gaomon jumped up and began a spinning attack through the air towards Tai. Tai scrambled to escape while analyzing his environment for something that he could use to defend himself. Fortunately he spotted a pile of 2x4's sitting in a pile near a store under construction. Tai barely dodged one of Gaomon's strikes, leaped down the sidewalk and snatched one of the elongated pieces of wood.

"He's got a weapon Gaomon!" J.P. called to his partner.

"Oh yes, a stick, I'm terrified." Gaomon ceased his spinning attack and switched to a different offensive move. "Gao Rush!" Gaomon leaped forward and rushed his opponent with a fist pulled backwards.

Tai, aware of the full on attack coming towards him, realized he didn't have time to flee. But his wooden plank, conveniently placed behind his body, would provide for an effective defense. He swung the plank forward, hoping it would have some effect.

"Oof!" The plank smacked into Gaomon's face and knocked him backwards.

"Woah," Tai stared at the doubled over Gaomon and the deadly wooden board in his hands in disbelief, "I really did not see that coming."

"Ow." Gaomon stumbled back up to his feet rubbing his forehead.

"Gaomon, how did that happen?" J.P. growled.

"I'm not sure." Gaomon replied. "I'm supposed to be faster than tha- Agh!" Tai smacked Gaomon upside the head once more. "Hey, cheap shot- agh!" Tai jabbed him in the gut and knocked him to his partner's feet. "Okay, I think I'm done." He groaned one last time.

"How did you-?" J.P. began.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty ecstatic about it." Tai smiled as he slung the board above his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're proud of yourself." J.P. then smiled wickedly, much to Tai's dismay, as he grabbed his digivice. Tai then watched uncomfortably as J.P. flipped a small switch on the side of his digivice that wasn't on Takato's or Sora's. "In case you didn't know, that switch on my digivice turns the Dark Beacon on and off."

"Ugh," Tai sighed.

"Gaomon, get up." J.P. nudged his partner with his foot.

"So much pain…" The Digimon sighed.

"Get up now!" J.P. hissed.

"Fine." Gaomon wobbled to his feet.

"Brace yourself Tai," J.P. snarled, and then pressed a button on his digivice. Nothing happened. "What?" J.P. pressed the button again. Nothing happened. "Damn it!" J.P. pressed the button a series of times. Nothing ever happened. "What's wrong with you you stupid piece of sh-!" A 2x4 smashed into J.P.'s hand and knocked the digivice into a wall, where it broke into a few pieces: as did J.P.'s hand. "Agh! Son of a bi-!"

"Are you done now?" Tai laughed as he walked to a position between J.P. and the digiivce.

"Are you kidding me, I'm going to-!"

"Do you really think you have any sort of advantage? Your hand is broken, your partner has a concussion, and I've got this high tech 2x4 that is putting you two to shame." J.P. glared at Tai for a second, and then conceded defeat.

"Let's get out of here Gaomon," J.P. grumbled as he began to back away.

"Fine with me," Gaomon groaned dizzily. The pair of them backed away for a few seconds before turning around and running away down the street.

"Come back anytime!" Tai cheered to them. He waited for a few seconds until they were out of sight, and then let out a large sigh. "Ohmygosh I can't believe that worked!" Tai breathed in exasperation. He then dropped the 2x4 on the sidewalk and picked up the scraps of J.P.'s digivice. "Now why doesn't this thing work: aside from the obvious reason anyway?"

***** Residence**

**Shinjuku Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**6:44 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

Tai arrived at the front door of the house that the digivice was located in. _This has to be Joe's house_, he thought to himself. Tai then pocketed his digivice, practiced in his head how he was going to explain what happened to Joe one last time, and knocked on the door.

"Hello?" A woman opened the door.

"Hello, does Joe Kido liv-" Tai stopped short. "Mrs. Matsuki?"

"Uh," The woman stared at him for a second, "Wait, Tai Kamiya: Takato's friend?" Mrs. Matsuki, the wife of Takato's father's brother, was at the door.

"Yeah, hi." Tai nodded.

"Hey Tai, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for a friend's house, but I guess I got the wrong address. I didn't realize you, Mr. Matsuki and Kairo-" It dawned on Tai- "lived out here in Shinjuku."

"You know it's really weird because Takato just invited us over to dinner. We were about to drive over there right now."

"Oh, is that right." _What the hell are you thinking Takato?_

"So, you got the wrong address?"

"Yeah. I didn't remember him saying that he lived in Shinjuku, but I thought I'd try this slip in my drawer that had this address on it. Takato must have left it in our house at some point."

"Well you're stranded all the way out here in Shinjuku, would you like a ride back home?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to trouble you Mrs. Matsuki." Tai shook his head.

"Nonsense, we were just about to leave anyway. Besides, any friend of my brother-in-law's family is a friend of ours."

"Well thank you, that is very nice of you." Tai then followed the woman to the car in the driveway, thanked her again as she unlocked the door for him, and sat inside. A few seconds later, she entered the front passenger seat and her husband opened the door to the driver's seat.

"Hello Tai, what are you doing out here in Shinjuku?" The man asked as he buckled his seatbelt.

"Oh, I was trying to find a friend's house and I found your house instead. It's kind of a long story." The other back door opened, and Kairo then slid into the car.

"Oh, hey Kairo." Tai gave a knowing smile.

"sonofabitch," Kairo mumbled underneath his breath.

**Matsuki Residence**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**7:20 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

The Shinjuku Matsuki car pulled up in front of the Odaiba Matsuki restaurant and parked. The four passengers then exited the car.

"Are you sure you don't need a ride to your place Tai?" Mrs. Matsuki asked.

"No, it's not far. Besides, I need to talk to Takato for a second anyway." Mr. Matsuki then knocked on the door to his brother's restaurant. Takehiro Matsuki, Takato's father, opened the door and said hello to his brother, and invited the four stragglers in.

"Tai, what are you doing here?" Takehiro inquired.

"We found him wandering around in Shinjuku for some vague reason." Shinjuku Matsuki answered for him.

"I just need to talk to Takato for a second," Tai continued, "May I?"

"Yeah, he's upstairs in his room." Odaiba Matsuki nodded to the staircase in the back. Tai thanked him, slipped off his shoes, and ran upstairs to Takato's room.

"Hey." Tai barked quietly at the boy, who was lying on his bed.

"Hey Tai." Takato greeted his friend as he got off the bed.

"That wasn't a friendly hello, Takato, what the hell are you thinking?" Tai growled as he entered the room.

"Well at the moment I was thinking that a rice ball sounded kind of tasty." Takato answered innocently.

"You invited your evil cousin to dinner tonight?" Tai whispered.

"How'd you know about that?"

"I was looking for Joe's digivice, but instead I found his! I remember seeing Kairo in the digital world, but I didn't think it was actually him."

"Wait, what's the problem again?"

"What exactly do you aim to get out of this?" Tai grumbled. "He's frickin' evil! Do you think you're just going to have a pleasant conversation tonight?"

"Well I don't think he's in any position to do anything to me." Takato shrugged.

"Takato, I was just assaulted by J.P. and his Dog-mon thing out in the middle of the street. If Kairo gets the chance he's going to make you regret this."

"But I have a plan."

"What plan!"

"Izzy and Yolei are going over to Kairo's house right now. They're going to comb over his room and get a hold of whatever he's using to get to the digital world and any information they can find out about him and the other evil digidestined."

"Oh..."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Did you give them your key?"

"Of course I gave them my key."

"Ah…"

"Are you satisfied now?"

"I guess so."

"You should probably leave now: I'm going to have to socialize."

"Okay."

"You might want to try to find Joe's house again too."

"Right…"

**Matsuki Residence**

**Shinjuku Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**8:01 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

"I don't feel right about this Izzy." Yolei whispered as her companion and she slipped out of her father's car and slowly walked up to the door of the Shinjuku Matsuki house.

"You were an evil tyrant in the digital world for generations, and now you're worried about breaking and entering?" Izzy muttered sarcastically under his breath.

"That's messed up Izzy." Yolei remarked with a deadpan face.

"You have to remember Yolei," Izzy began as he pulled the key given to him by Takato out of his pocket and unlocked the door, "We're stealing from an evil villain whose crimes are in another world. What's Kairo supposed to do: call the police and say "somebody stole my inter-dimensional gateway and Digimon torturing equipment?"

"No, but that would make for one hell of a headline." Yolei and Izzy then slowly walked into the main room, flipped on the switch to scan for any unforeseen obstacles, and closed the door. They then searched their way to Kairo's room, a plain door in a hallway across from a closet. Izzy reached for the handle and tried to open the door.

"Crap."

"Learn some grown-up words Izzy. What's wrong?"

"It's locked, and also, thank you for insulting my vocabulary."

"There you go; that's better. Now stand aside." Yolei scooted Izzy out of the way of the door and poised herself in front of it.

"What are you going to do?"

"Living up to the name of breaker and enterer," Yolei replied, and then smashed her foot into the middle of the door, knocking it open with a crack as the wood around the lock broke apart.

"Well that's not noticeable."

"Something tells me that if the door was locked in the first place that Kairo won't really want his parents examining anything near his room." Yolei then pushed the door the rest of the way open and entered with Izzy behind her. "Now what do we have here?" She went to the white sheet over some large object and yanked it off, revealing a human sized metal ring poised on some mechanical equipment.

"Whoa, this boy watches way too much sci-fi."

"This must be his gateway to the digital world." Izzy observed.

"Yeah, a star-gate,"

"I wonder how it works." Izzy pondered as he placed his hand on the interface on the side of the ring.

"Well, let's find out." Yolei wondered over to the computer on the desk next to the ring and turned it on. As it booted up, she began to rifle through the items in his desk drawer. "Did you bring a bag or something?"

"Yeah, for what?"

"Well, we're stealing from Kairo aren't we?" Yolei asked. "We'll need something to put all of our illegally procured items into."

"What good are papers going to do us?" Izzy shrugged.

"How about some backup blueprints?" She held up a batch of blue pages that clearly showed machine parts. "And notes," She pointed to a notebook. Izzy, with a smile on his face, pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket and handed it to her. "Oh, how high tech."

"Exactly how advanced do you need your bags to be?"

"Damn," She swore, "The computer needs a password."

"Not exactly surprising," Izzy replied, "He is a super genius after all. I could probably hack it but it would take me a while."

"Do we have a while?"

"We probably have an hour and a half before they get home. I could probably hack it by then but it's no guarantee that we'd find something of value in that time." Izzy explained.

"Okay, that's fine, time for plan B." Yolei turned off the computer.

"Plan B?" Izzy asked as she rifled through the desk drawer once more, this time pulling out a screwdriver.

"Perfect," She stated as she proceeded to unplug the cords from the back of the CPU and pull it out from under the desk.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking out the hard drive." Yolei answered to no response. "What, are you telling me you never thought of that? Can you seriously not fathom hooking Kairo's hard drive up to your computer and getting the information off of it."

"No."

"About?" Yolei raised her head at Izzy's surprising answer.

"About not fathoming it," Izzy replied to her relief.

"Good," She stated as she screwed off the side of the CPU, and then proceeded to slide the hard drive out of its slot and unhook it from the internal wires. "Okay, what's next?" She asked as she dumped the excavated hard drive into the plastic bag.

"Wow, Kairo is going to be pissed when he gets back."

"Eh, he's twelve. He'll get over it."

"You know you're acting awfully cavalier about your criminal affairs all of a sudden Yolei."

"Hey, I may not like being a criminal, but if I have to do it I'll embrace it with every fiber of my being. Ethics are no excuse for spotty workmanship."

"Is that why you were so ax-crazy back when you were evil?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"I'd really like to take this machine with us," Izzy said as he eyed the interdimensional matter transporter, redirecting the conversation, "But I know it would just take us too long to successfully take it apart and get it into the car."

"Well, we have at least one, probably both, sets of blueprints," Yolei reasoned, "So we can build our own. Let's just make sure Kairo can't use his." She then walked over a box at the base of the machine that seemed to be important, and unscrewed the side. "Ooh, wires and computer chips." Then, with the butt of the screwdriver, she smashed the inside of the box, causing a cascade of static to spew from the hole. "There, all useless. Ooh," She then took the butt of the screwdriver and, seeing the reflective surfaces on the inside of the ring, began to smash said reflective surfaces. "See anything else breakable?"

"Well, there's that huge wire cluster running into a hole in the wall." Izzy pointed to the large bundle of wires that Kairo had sawed a hole into the wall in order to get it to whatever the machine's power source was.

"Good going Izzy!" She then walked into the small space behind the machine where the cord was attached to the machine.

"Don't electrocute yourself." Izzy warned.

"Please Izzy, what are the odds of that happening?"

"Yolei give me the screwdriver!"

"I can't believe you wouldn't let me pull the plug off of all things Izzy." Yolei groaned as she placed the bag of stolen goods into the back of the car and got into the driver's seat.

"Yolei, we just vandalized a twelve year old boy's room and stole his intellectual property: and we're the good guys!" He emphasized.

"Shouldn't I be the one making that argument?"

"The point is I think we've done enough. Besides, the material in that box you smashed up sounded similar to a CPU. That thing probably won't run properly without a computer."

"Ooh, good idea. I'll be right back." She snatched the key to the house from Izzy and exited the vehicle.

"Yolei…!" Izzy grumbled, but remained in the car. She returned a minute later holding the CPU to Kairo's desk computer in her arms. She placed it into the back seat and then returned to the vehicle.

"I should've just done this before: better safe than sorry right?"

"Wow, we really suck."

"Grown-up words Izzy, grown-up words."

**Matsuki Residence**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**8:44 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

The night had gone smoothly. There had been no significant interaction between Takato and Kairo. Their parents had talked to each other, laughed, talked to each other's kids, laughed some more, ate, talked some more, all the usual things. One might even say it was the most average event that had ever taken place in the world, ever.

Which concerned Takato just a tad considering a) he had just gotten out of the hospital the day before and b) his bastardly evil cousin was engrossed in the laughing and talking and eating. Everything was fine though. They were about to leave, and it would take them nothing short of 40 minutes to get home, which gave Yolei and Izzy (who were in on the schedule) a good 40 minutes to finish up in Kairo's room and exit the premises.

As the talking and laughing continued after dinner, as his mother and father began to prepare desert, Takato excused himself to his room for a moment. He needed to call Izzy and Yolei and check on their progress. He left the superficial joy and merriment and walked upstairs, then turned into his room and went for the phone on his desk.

"What the hell is going on here Takato?" He heard a voice grumble from the doorway. Takato slowly turned around swearing under his breath. He had hoped this part of the evening wouldn't have to happen.

"Hey Kairo," Takato winced, "What brings you up here?"

"What's your plan Takato?" Kairo scoffed, ignoring Takato's faux question. "What could you possibly have to gain from inviting me here?"

"Maybe I just wanted to see my aunt, uncle, and cousin today. Did you ever think of that?"

"Cut the crap Takato, you know as well as I do we're on opposite sides here. There's no fraternization between enemies."

"And why is it that we're on opposite sides?" Takato proposed. "You know the only reason you're evil is because somebody is controlling you, right?"

"I beg to differ. I'm doing what I'm doing because I want to."

"And what exactly are you doing: trying to conquer the digital world? What exactly will that accomplish for you? You don't exactly get a real world bonus for being an evil dictator in another dimension."

"Universe."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. I'm not going to try and argue my perspective to you Takato, but what I am going to do is make sure you and your digidestined friends don't interfere with us anymore."

"Oh really, and how is that? Are you going to attack me in here Kairo? You don't exactly have the advantage. And what would your parents say? What would my parents say? How are you going to justify attacking me?"

"I'd think of something." Kairo smiled wickedly. "But I'm not just talking about you. I'm talking about all of your little Digimon pals. They're here, in the real world, exposed to dangers they wouldn't encounter in the digital world."

"Like what?"

"Like cars, and poisons, and guns." Kairo answered emotionlessly, prompting a horrified look to appear on Takato's face.

"Well then," Takato quickly recovered, "I'm glad you'll find something new to do after your plans for digital world domination fail."

"And how's that exactly?"

"Tell me this Kairo, how are you going to take over the digital world, if you can't even get there?" Takato gave a knowing smile.

"What are you talking ab-?" It suddenly dawned on Kairo why Takato had invited him and his family over. "You sneaky son of a bitch!"

"You'd better get home Kairo. You just might catch Yolei and Izzy in time to convince your parents that they're stealing your inter-dimensional matter transporter that you use to terrorize another dimension."

Kairo grumbled something under his breath, and then quickly left the room. He took a left, deeper into the hallway, instead of a right towards the stairs however. Takato followed him out and saw him go into the bathroom. The toilet flushed, and Kairo came out a second later and breezed past Takato, but not before jabbing him in the shoulder as he went.

"Ow," Takato winced, and then followed Kairo downstairs. Takato then witnessed Kairo feed his mother a story about how he ate some strange tasting catfish for lunch and that his stomach was acting up, prompting the family to take their leave. Everyone said their goodbyes and the family left, but not before Takato shot Kairo a triumphant smile.

"Bastard…"

**Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**8:50 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

"So, how'd it go?" Tai asked in a high voice as Izzy and Yolei walked up the stairs to the roof. He, Kari, and the Digimon were there waiting for them.

"When did you get here?" Izzy inquired.

"Almost an hour ago: Takato filled me in on what you were doing. How did the grand larceny go?"

"Is it called that in Japan?" Yolei inquired.

"We just stole everything relating to his giant digital world transporting machine and destroyed the machine itself." Izzy explained.

"He had a machine?" Tai asked.

"More like a cheap knockoff of American television," Yolei replied.

"So did anything productive happen of turning two digidestined into criminals?" Kari chimed in.

"Well, with what we stole, I can probably scrap together the parts to build ourselves a portal similar to Kairo's so we can have a permanent gateway to the digital world." Said Izzy.

"Eh…" Tai shrugged.

"Eh? We just cut off the evil digidestined's only portal to the digital world and found ourselves a method to get there ourselves. What did you do today?"

"I beat up J.P. and his partner and stole his digivice." _Wow that sounded a lot more impressive and a lot less child abusive inside my head. _Tai thought to himself as his inner monologue began to run wild as a precursor to the many conversations between digidestined that were inevitably about to occur.

* * *

J.P. was Taichi pwned. If you can think of a better way that J.P. was pwned (Yami pwned and Vegetowned are out of the question!) then review or send me a message. I'll casually mention the best one at some future point in the series.


	12. A Cruel and Heartless Bastard

I've gotten myself a beta reader. Can you guess who it is? It's not hard. Oapekay will be beta reading the rest of TDO Kalypso, and if I'm lucky the rest of the series. So the numerous grammar mistakes that have been prevalent should all be eliminated.

**Chapter Twelve: The Motivation behind a Cruel and Heartless Bastard**

**Primary Village**

**File Island, Digital World**

**5:16 P.M: January 13****th****, 2010 Earth Time**

At one time, Primary Village was a paradise. A lush green forest surrounded the small town, protecting it from exposure to enemies. A huge field took up the northern slopes, with thousands of digi-eggs dotting the landscape, waiting to be hatched. The town itself was akin to a child's toy box, with buildings made to look like building blocks, housing the Elecmons' quarters, and providing facilities for the new Digimon that hatched every day. Now it was all over. The majority of the forest had been burned down during the assault. Buildings had been toppled over, and many of the town's inhabitants had been reconfigured as digi-eggs within the northern field.

The city was teeming with life, however, just not the kind one might find in a city devoted to the art of child nursery. In the center of the town stood a tall black spire, broadcasting a digivolution suppressive beacon across the town. The population was an army of armor Digimon. Some were cleaning up the rubble, so that others could work. These others were tasked with separating baby Digimon based on their type. Every Botamon was isolated into a certain building and placed under guard, as well as every MetalKoromon, Pabumon, and Poyomon. Any baby Digimon that was a pre-evolution of one of the original Digidestineds' partners was corralled together. They weren't going to kill the baby Digimon, at least not yet; they had to find out which one was a reincarnated partner Digimon. And they would find out.

Henry Wong, sixteen, Chinese, spiky blue hair, indomitably evil, stood in front of a conveyor belt, brought in for this exact purpose. Digi-egg after digi-egg passed before him, and he analyzed it with the dark powers imbued to him by the Dark Needle. Years with a dark web of evil living within him had given Henry numerous special abilities, one of which allowed him to analyze energy signatures unique to every being. While he would soon use this ability to find out which baby Digimon were partner Digimon, first he had to find something else, something that he had lost a long time ago.

"Sir, it is getting late. Perhaps we should return to the citadel before it gets dark." General Halsemon said from behind.

"You go ahead and do that, Halsemon, I'm going to stay here." Henry replied as he analyzed yet another egg.

"Sir, I don't have to remind you that the majority of your enemies live on this island, and that staying here might prompt them to try and do something about your presence."

"No, you don't have to remind me Halsemon," Henry stopped his work for a second and turned to his underling with a glare, causing a look of fear to develop on the Digimon's face, "But I can obviously take care of myself here. You go back and wait for Kairo and J.P. to return. I have things to do here." Halsemon then flew off; glad his master hadn't taken more offense to what he had said.

**High-End Living Quarters**

**The Metropolis, File Island, Digital World**

**10:47 P.M: January 13****th****, 2010**

Henry entered a room, much larger than the sleeping quarters of most Digimon. It had a large bed, fine sheets, a reclining chair, a bathroom: all the commodities. A plaque on the door said "The Kamiya Room". It annoyed Henry, but it was the most comfortable room in the building, and he liked the finer things in life. Just as Henry sat down on his bed, a voice hissed from above: "You see, I told you he'd choose this room."

"What… who's there?" Henry barked.

"I told you he couldn't resist the luxury."

"He must have chosen it because Tai stayed in here."

"Do you think it's an inferiority complex, or love?"

"Ooh, I can smell the fanfiction of ambiguous quality already."

"Show yourselves!" Henry demanded. A thud then sounded behind him, and Henry spun around to confront whoever was there.

"What's the problem Henry, aren't you happy to see me?" Asked a lion cub-like Digimon sitting on the chair as Henry glared at him.

"Leormon," Henry snarled, "Didn't expect to see you again anytime soon."

"Well what can we say," A new voice on his bed spoke, "We just couldn't resist dropping in." Henry turned around to see a squat, pink, demon with large claws for hands and feet sitting on his bed, cross-clawed.

"And where there's one there's the other, hello Arkadimon." Henry said with a condescending attitude. "What are you doing here?"

"We've just come to check on your progress." Arkadimon answered him. "It seems to have taken you a while to get a hold of File Island."

"I couldn't just go straight for it. It's going to take a while to find what you're looking for and I couldn't have continents of other Digimon primed and ready to attack."

"So what are you doing right now out in Primary Village?" Leormon dropped from the chair behind him and hopped onto the bed.

"I'm looking for the Digimon who's holding what you want, obviously, and isolating the Digidestined's partner Digimon so they won't interfere." Henry answered.

"Yeah, you see, I don't think that's exactly what you're doing." Leormon snickered.

"The Digimon you implanted that energy with has had three years to hatch and grow. There's no way it would be in primary village." Arkadimon snarled.

"We think you're looking for something else." Leormon growled.

"Like what exactly?" Henry grumbled back.

"You're looking for _him_, aren't you?" Said Arkadimon.

"What? No, I know what you-"

"You doubt us don't you? You think we're lying to you about his whereabouts. We're trying to help you get your partner back, and you're trying to go behind our back!"

"I'm going to find your damn power source Arkadimon!" Henry shoved his face into Arkadimon's, the dark aura that he had been suppressing resurging around his body. "I haven't been able to locate him for three years, and I'm sure as hell not going to be able to now."

"That's right," Leormon hissed, "Just remember that. You're partner is gone and he can't come back: not without our help anyway."

"I get it!" Henry's toxic touch began to disintegrate the bed sheet, his anger increasing the strength of the aura. "Believe it or not, it's possible your power source might be powerful enough to inhibit the Digimon it is inside from growing properly! Not only that but it's possible the Digimon might have been destroyed in the last three years, so if it's been reconfigured then we're going to have to wait even longer for you to get what you want!" He and Arkadimon glared at each other for a few seconds; then Arkadimon finally responded.

"Okay Henry, I believe you," Arkadimon smiled with a hint of sarcasm, "Just remember our agreement. If you ever want to see your partner, you'll get that power source for us, preferably as soon as possible."

"We've been waiting longer than you could possibly imagine for this, and we've come too far to have it screwed up now by misunderstandings." Leormon added.

"Don't talk to me about waiting!" Henry turned to Leormon and barked. "And don't forget that you're not in the best position to be making threats. You may have something I want, but if you want to continue living long enough to make threats like that then you'll keep your big mouth in check." Henry's comment prompted a dark glare from Leormon.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?" Arkadimon tried to calm the situation. "We both need something from each other. There's no reason to go threatening each other needlessly."

"That's some nice ret-con you just did there Arkadimon." Henry jabbed. "Maybe you should have said that before pissing me off."

"Relax Henry, everything's fine. We'll leave you to it." Arkadimon backed away slowly, nodding to Leormon to do the same. "There's no need for this to get violent." He hadn't expected Henry to return the display of aggression. "You're obviously getting close."

"That's right." Henry growled. "Now get out of here while I finish my work."

"Okay," Arkadimon nodded, "When you've found it you know how to contact us." Arkadimon then skulked towards the door with Leormon behind him, and the pair exited.

"Damn it!" Henry screeched after they had gone, and swiped at the chair behind him. It shattered into a pile of wood and fabric, causing a loud noise to reverberate throughout the room. "They're watching me. Don't they have anything better to do?" He forced himself to calm down, letting the black aura sink back into his body. With his heart rate at a decent level and his anger at a manageable state, he forced himself to lie down and sleep.

**Somewhere**

**4 Years Prior**

He sat alone. He was always alone: in darkness. He had been so for a lifetime. Nobody cared to free him from this prison. They just left him to fester in what could only be described as hell. There was no fire, no brimstone, no demon cameos from the Divine Comedy or Paradise Lost. No, there was only him. For the first few years, he walked the rocky corridors, searching for an exit. His resolve would not be broken. He would take his revenge. His master, Myotismon, who he had served so loyally, had murdered his partner and left him to die in this cave.

Henry refused to sit down and take it like a dog. After he finally got over the swirling emotions of anger, hate, and depression, he attempted to leave the cave and search out his newfound enemy. But by that time it was too late. The exits he knew had been sealed off. The dim torches that dotted the hallways provided no comfort to Henry: not then, not now. Henry found himself trapped in a labyrinth of rock and never ending despair. For years he searched for an exit, charting out the cave systems, but in the end he finally gave up.

At this time, 100 years later, Henry sat alone, in a corner, away from the torches that never seemed to consume the last bit of oxygen that was keeping him alive. He never needed to eat, never needed to sleep, although sometimes he felt some relief in doing so. Henry had discovered that he could sit for years at a time and not eat, nor sleep, or possibly even think. He didn't know why that was. For that matter he didn't even know exactly how much time had passed in his little experiments. Sometimes he thought he might try and make something of this prison: fashion some tools out of some loose rocks and whatnot, make himself a fortress or some form of transportation. But he knew it would just give him a false sense of hope.

Henry had sat in the darkness, in status quo, for 100 years, until one day. It started off like any other day. Henry hadn't even known it had started. He had no sense of time. But then, something happened that hadn't happened in 100 years. He heard a noise. Wallowing in his own self pity, Henry almost didn't hear it. He was busy thinking to himself. Some time ago he had finally snapped, and designated the left half of his body as one person and the right half as another. He wasn't far off. At some point the power of the dark needle ceased to have any control over him, providing what could be construed as two separate entities. It wasn't noticeable to anybody but him. But he could feel his freedom, however little he had.

But the noise was more important. It wasn't anything special. An average person off the street might not have even heard it. However for somebody who had spent a century in perfect silence it was deafening. Henry stopped arguing with his left half and raised his head. He had heard something that may or may not have been a cracking sound. He wondered to himself if he was going crazy. Then he realized that he already had, and stood up to investigate. He walked down the dark hallway, his footsteps creating a faint echo that confused Henry's ears. He made it to a junction in the hallway where another one intersected. He didn't know which way the noise had come from, so he just stood there.

Then he heard another crack: this time it came from his right. Henry, curiosity the only emotion he could possibly muster at this juncture, followed the source of the noise. This particular corridor was very short. It dead-ended a few hundred feet forward. Henry walked for a minute until he arrived at the end. What he saw confused him. At the end of the hall, illuminated by a barely flickering torch, was a hole in the wall. It didn't go all the way through. No, it was merely a jagged fissure. But it was a change in the façade of the walls. Henry couldn't contemplate how a change could even occur. Then the wall cracked again. He jumped back, startled, as a new fissure branched off from the original.

"What is this?" Henry asked himself in a raspy voice. He hadn't spoken in a long time.

_It's our escape._

Suddenly the crack fissured again: and again: and again. The break in the wall started to web all over the cavern, shooting far beyond Henry into the deepest reaches of the mountain.

"What's going on?" Henry asked himself as the cracks began to occur so frequently and loudly that it started to drown out his voice.

_Freedom Henry: that's what's happening!_

"Aaaggghhh!" Henry began to scream as the cracking noise increased to a deafening earthquake. The walls started to crumple around him, and debris rained down upon him as he bent over to avoid head injury. Then the floor collapsed, and Henry fell into more darkness. Henry's descent became faster and faster as he watched cavern after cavern collapse above him. Then it all ended in a brilliant flash of white. The mountain exploded into trillions and trillions of pieces of data and swirled around Henry, who now found himself suspended in mid-air, and then pulled away as if caught in a whirlpool.

"What?" Henry breathed heavily as the mountain data rushed away, and he found himself in darkness once again, the fleeting mountain the only stimulation on his eyes. Henry almost smiled. He was free of the mountain. But where was he now? What had happened to the mountain? Where was Myotismon?

He never got to contemplate these questions though, before his body started to ache. He grunted difficultly as pain began to swell within him. A blistering headache pounded inside his head and his blood as if it was trying to burst from his veins.

"What's happening?" He screamed as the immense pain began to take over his concentration. Then it got bad. He felt the feeling in his hand go away, and looked down to see it dematerializing into white specks of data. "What, no, what's going on?" He tried to speak, but the data then started to pull away, caught in the same pull as the mountain had been. "No," He sighed, exhausted, as the rest of his arm dematerialized as well and began to follow the flow. "No!" His right arm began to deconstruct as well while his left shoulder and rib followed suit. "Noooo!" His body flew away from him piece by piece.

**One Year Later**

Henry woke up. He didn't know what caused it. He didn't know it at the time but he had been asleep for a year. It wasn't that strange, at least for Henry anyway, but there was no reason for him to wake up now. This time though, when he woke up, he inhaled sand. He spat it out, only to inhale more sand. He quickly sat upright, spat out the sand again, and finally inhaled air: real air. Wind swept over his face. Opening his eyes, he could see the expansive sandy desert around him. Waves of emotions passed over him: happiness, joy, relief, and anger: mostly at Myotismon. His thoughts of vengeance quickly dominated his line of thought. He pulled himself out of the sand, which he had been buried in for months, not caring to know why, and began walking. He didn't know where he would go; only that he knew who he was looking for.

Henry walked for a while. He encountered a forest at the edge of the desert, and a little while he found a town surrounded by a large wooden wall: Shichiri Village. There were Digimon swarming all over the place. Henry wanted to barge right in, but he knew at his current status he wouldn't be able to accomplish much. So he hid in the trees, watching the interaction between the Digimon. He watched one Digimon come out with a bundle of brown and black robes and throw them into a pile.

From the random amount of junk he could see in the pile, Henry gathered that it was for a bonfire. He quietly skulked over to the pile when nobody was looking and snatched one of the generic brown robes, donned it, and used it to blend in with the crowd, making sure to conceal his face. Earlier he had seen his reflection in a stream, discovering the dark aura that was surrounding him, and didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he already would.

He sneaked into the busy town. He made his way to the tavern. It would be a good place for him to discover the whereabouts of his enemy. He ducked inside, sat down at the bar, and reached into his pocket for some coinage. It had been sitting in his pocket for 100 years. Now it was time to use it to further his interests. He purchased some ale. He had never drunk alcohol before. It didn't matter. He was 112(113) years old, and had an ancient evil power festering inside him. He could take it.

There were two Digimon conversing a few seats away from him: two rookie Digimon, a Palmon and a Ryudamon. Fortunately, somehow, they were talking about exactly what he wanted to hear. The only problem was they weren't saying what he'd have liked. Through bits and pieces of the two Digimon's reminiscing, Henry began to piece together what had happened. A hundred years had passed. His former allies had betrayed Myotismon and joined the other Digidestined: good for them. The Dark Masters had returned: he didn't know who they were. Myotismon, now Piedmon, was working for them. The Dark Masters became Apocalymon. Apocalymon ripped apart the digital world. He remembered that. Piedmon had turned against him and returned to the side of the "Royal Knights", and sacrificed himself to stop Apocalymon.

It had been a year. Henry had been lying under that desert sand for a year. Piedmon was gone. The other Digidestined were gone. The Royal Knights remained. This world was at peace. He didn't care. Myotismon had betrayed him. The other Digidestined had forgotten about him, left him to die in that cave. He didn't know what to make of it anymore. There was no way of doing anything productive. All he could do was to try and figure out where his partner was. He knew there was one place in town where he could do that. It would be risky, but he had nothing left to lose.

He left the bar. Shrouded in his robe and mysterious aura, Henry silently crossed the town until he arrived at the village center, a thatched hut with leather flaps for doors in stark contrast to the more modern look of some of the buildings. Making sure there were no guards in the vicinity to get in his way, he slipped inside, to a circular room with a large indentation in the floor for seating. A fountain sat in the center, and in a triangle on opposite ends of the room were three roaring fires positioned near vents in the roof. Sitting in the indented sitting area, having a conversation, were two Digimon: the short, elder with bundled gray hair and colorful robe Babamon, and the dinosaur humanoid in Native American-esque clothing Dinohumon.

"Who's there?" Babamon asked in response to the noise of the 'door'. She and Dinohumon turned their heads to see Henry walking slowly towards them.

"May we help you?" Dinohumon asked as they stood up and walked towards Henry.

"Yeah," Henry replied in a raspy voice. He hadn't used it in a while. He pushed off the hood of his cloak and replied, "You can tell me where my partner is." The two stared at him perplexed for a few seconds, until Babamon finally registered who he was.

"Henry," she said with wide eyes unseen under her bangs, "Henry Wong?"

"Surprised to see me?" He asked with sarcasm. He knew there was a risk of him getting attacked or captured by confronting Babamon like this, but he had to take it. He wouldn't make any progress otherwise.

"Henry, how, I mean, where have you been?"

"You know damn well where I've been. But that's not important right now. I only want to know one thing, and I'll be on my way. I won't bother you anymore after that; just tell me this one thing."

"And what is that Henry?"

"Where is my partner?"

"You're partner?"

"My partner, Kokuwamon; I know you know where he is, and if you don't you know somebody who knows, and you're going to tell me where he is."

"Henry, I have no idea, what's-!"

"Liar!" Henry bellowed in haste, and lunged for the mega Digimon. His anger threshold was a lot lower than usual. Before he ever came into contact with her however Dinohumon grabbed Henry's wrist and flung him out the door. However in that split second Henry felt something he had never experienced. When Dinohumon came into contact with the aura around his hand, he felt some of Dinohumon's energy sap into him, giving him a bit more strength and allowed him to brace himself for the collision with the ground.

"Ugh," Dinohumon's knees buckled a little from nausea.

"Dinohumon, what is wrong?" Babamon asked her companion.

"I do not know," He responded as he steadied himself, "The blood must have rushed to my head too quickly." Then he headed out the door towards Henry, with Babamon close behind.

Henry picked himself up off the ground, a crowd of Digimon now staring intensely at him. As if being flung out of the elder's hut wasn't enough, he was also a human, one they had some issues with. There was also the odd dark aura clinging to Henry's skin, but the other two things were probably prevalent in the current situation. He then saw Dinohumon exit the hut, and poised himself for an attack.

"Henry don't, we are not your enemy." Babamon tried to halt the boy, who was now seething with anger, from launching what she believed to be a futile attack against his superior.

"You've just made yourselves mine!" Henry cried, and then lunged for Dinohumon. His judgment clouded, Henry had no belief that this attack would work, only he was so angry he had to do it. In his anger he couldn't make anything of what had transpired when Dinohumon had grabbed his wrist.

"Calm yourself boy!" Dinohumon commanded, but Henry wouldn't obey. He kept rushing towards the humanoid. Dinohumon waited until Henry was close and then blocked his punch, then stumbled again as he felt some of his energy leave his body again. "What is this?"

Henry had felt it again too, but this time he became aware of it. The two times his body had come in contact with another Digimon, he had felt himself getting stronger, and now he saw his opponent getting weaker. Henry didn't know how, but he knew he had a particular advantage in this fight. Positioning himself for an attack again, Henry waited until Dinohumon steadied himself, and then jumped at him. Dinohumon, now wary of Henry, slid out of the way, but Henry threw his hand out and latched onto Dinohumon's arm.

"Ugh!" Dinohumon grunted in pain as Henry kept hold of Dinohumon's arm, whatever power Henry had beginning to take full effect. Dinohumon found himself helpless to pull away, as the dark aura that hovered around Henry began to ensnare his arm and slowly snake its way up the rest of his body. It had only taken a few seconds, but Henry was already in full control. Dinohumon dropped to his knees, his energy flowing rapidly into Henry and within the next few seconds, it was all over. The last of Dinohumon's strength left him, and his body crumpled into bits and pieces of data that dissipated into the air.

"Oh Yggdrasil…" Babamon and the other onlookers watched in horror as their friend was ruthlessly murdered in a time period of only ten seconds. Henry, on the other hand, finally cracked a smile, as the energy he had just stolen from Dinohumon imbued him with the desire to carry out more destruction and carnage. He lifted his head and turned about to take a look at the crowd of 30 or so Digimon. It suddenly dawned on them what he was about to do, and as Dinohumon was the most powerful Digimon in the village at the time, knew they would be helpless to stop it. So they did the only thing they could do: they ran. Everyone ran: Babamon, the Palmon and Ryudamon, the random Tokomon in the crowd, everyone. But Henry wasn't going to let that happen. He lunged for Babamon first, whose speed was no match for Henry's. He latched onto her shoulder and began the process of his horrifying new power.

"I hope you're proud of youself old woman: if you had only just told me what I wanted to know." He hissed, evilly one might add, as Babamon's brittle body dissipated into data. As her quickly deteriorating fell to the ground though, Henry felt a spark of electricity connect between his fingertip and a bundle of data, which disappeared afterwards. His power was growing. He turned towards the fleeing crowd, and with his hand outstretched, attempted to do the same thing again. It worked. Arcs of static raced across the air and collided with the backs of every Digimon in sight, and seconds later they met with the same fate as Babamon and Dinohumon.

Henry laughed hysterically. Power was surging within him. It didn't last. He had gained too much power, and it wanted out. Henry doubled over in pain as the energy he had just stolen from over thirty Digimon came rushing out, via the dark aura around him. It exploded, radiating from his body, and consumed everything. Henry collapsed, the exchange of energy exhausting him, and he passed out.

He woke up the next morning. Or it might have been. It was daylight when Henry woke up. He stood up, massaged his forehead, where he had taken a blow to the head due to fainting, and looked around at the village, only to discover that there was no village anymore. The buildings had been destroyed in the blast, and only a few small segments of the city wall had survived the shockwave. Henry didn't know what to make of himself. His anger had fueled some destructive power within him, and it had torn apart hundreds, if not thousands, of Digimon.

"Wow." Somebody spoke behind him. "Remind me not to get him angry." Henry turned around. Before him was a Digimon, a lion cub-like creature with a medallion hanging from his neck, sitting on his hind legs.

"Who are you talking to?" Henry inquired of the Digimon, not bothering with the pleasantries.

"Just another admirer of you work," Another voice spoke to his side. Henry turned to see a second Digimon, some sort of fuchsia demon with clawed hands and feet, standing a few feet away. "Greetings, I'm Arkadimon."

"I don't care," Henry spoke, "What do you want?"

"Somebody who likes to get to the point, I see: good." The lion Digimon, whose name was Leormon, said, "We won't have to beat around the bush."

"We heard about the destruction of Shichiri Village," Arkadimon began.

"From a lone survivor who barely survived the carnage," Leormon continued.

"A Toucanmon who flew upwards when you were, as he put it, electrocuting everybody," Arkadimon expounded.

"Naturally we came to see how it happened, but we never would have suspected that Henry Wong would be behind it." Leormon laughed.

"You two finish each other's sentences," Henry scoffed, "Cute."

"You can continue to insult us or you can hear what we have to offer."

"And what might that be?"

"The location of your partner," Leormon answered, prompting a wide eyed glare from Henry in his direction.

"You see Henry, while all of your so called 'friends' abandoned you," Arkadimon began, "We didn't. We remembered your legacy as one of the 'evil' Digidestined, and when you disappeared we were naturally confused. But then we found out something that you might be curious to know."

"And what is that?"

"When your partner Kokuwamon was destroyed, he was absorbed into the data streams like every other Digimon. However unlike them when he returned to the digital core to be reconfigured, he never came back."

"The digital what?"

"The digital core is the object at the center of the digital world that regulates the flow of data," Leormon explained quickly, "When a Digimon dies it goes to the digital core to be reconfigured into a new Digimon that doesn't have its previous memories."

"So, Kokuwamon is stuck there?" Henry inquired with a hopeful voice.

"Yes, and lucky for you we know how to get him back." Arkadimon told him.

"Do you now," Henry said condescendingly, his hopefulness gone, "This is starting to sound awfully convenient."

"You don't believe us." Leormon growled.

"If it weren't, as I said, so convenient, then I might be a little more willing to believe you." Henry replied.

"What do you expect to do with yourself, Henry Wong?" Arkadimon barked. "You and your partner have both been gone for 100 years, and nobody seemed to care. Now if you'll hear our proposition we might be able to help each other out."

"Fine," Henry complied, "What is it that you want?"

"You've obviously gained certain 'abilities' from your time with the dark needle," Leormon stated as he swept his eyes over the scarred landscape,

"We think those powers can help us achieve something." Arkadimon continued.

"And what would that be?"

"The Toucanmon said you "drained the energy" right out of him, is that true?"

"You could say that." Henry answered.

"Do you think you could do the opposite: put some of your dark energy into something else?" Arkadimon proposed.

"I just discovered these powers yesterday, what makes you think I-" Henry recalled his exportation of energy after the initial intake. "Yeah, I probably could."

"Perfect," Arkadimon hissed.

"We need you to go to File Island," Leormon explained, "To Primary Village to be exact. Once there, we want you to find a digi-egg, any one will do, but we want you to put some of your dark power into it."

"Not enough to kill the poor thing, of course," Arkadimon took over the exposition, "But enough so that when the Digimon hatches and grows, the dark energy within him will increase as well. That way, in a few years when he's ascended to a champion power level, the dark energy stored within will be immense."

"And what is the purpose of this?" Henry asked. "What do you want with this energy?"

"It's… private," Leormon answered.

"I feel like I'm missing something. So you want me to feed some energy into a Digimon, then remove it a few years from now, and just give it to you?"

"In exchange for your partner, yes," Arkadimon nodded. "Like you Henry, we once lost something. And now you're in a position to help us get it back." Henry didn't answer. He was milling it over in his head. He wanted to get his partner back but he had no idea if these two actually had the capability to do it. He didn't know how much effort it would entail, and he didn't know if he could actually get his reward.

"It's not enough." Henry finally spoke.

"Not enough: what in Yggdrasil's name is wrong with you?" Leormon screamed. "We're offering you the deal of a lifetime here!"

"And I'm telling you that it's not enough," Henry answered in irritation.

"You fool! How do you-!"

"What else?" Arkadimon interrupted his tantrum throwing partner. "What else do you want from us?"

"Understand that I've been back for only a day, and suddenly you to arrive with the deal of a lifetime." Henry warned.

"We were just as surprised to find you as you were to hear our offer." Arkadimon responded.

"Has Piedmon reconfigured yet?" Henry inquired.

"No, the Royal Knights have asked Primary Village to monitor for him but so far he hasn't turned up. He's probably in the Dark Plane now, where evil Digimon who can't be reconfigured into neutrality are sent after their deaths."

"A digital hell, I see," Henry wondered if that mountain qualified as the Dark Plane, "Can you free him?"

"Excuse me?"

"You say you can free my partner from the Digital Core, can you free Piedmon from the Dark Plane?"

"I suppose we could," Arkadimon speculated, "It would actually be less difficult than trying to access the core."

"Good: then when I finish my end of the bargain I want you to give me my partner and give me Piedmon."

"Why on earth would you want us to do that?" Leormon inquired in disbelief.

"So I can kill him."

**Primary Village**

**File Island, Digital World**

**A Few Hours Later**

Henry stepped quietly out of the woods. Marching softly across the fields of Primary Village, the human child held his palm out to feel for the right egg. Using a new sense he had discovered on the way to File Island, he could detect the best vessel for what he was about to release: something that would adequately be able to hold the power he was about to instill in it. He found it too. A pair of twin digi-eggs leaning next to each other was the boy's target. He quietly slipped over to them, and after carefully weighing which was better placed his palm over the left egg. His influence was barely noticeable, but some of the darkness covering him snaked over the egg and then phased into it. His job done, Henry set the egg down and walked back to the woods, as quietly as he came. Then he stopped. He spotted a tree a short distance away from him in the woods.

Henry hated it. He didn't know why. It was like all of the other trees. All he knew was that it didn't need to be there. He walked up to it and placed his palm against the trunk. His dark veil began to snake into it. Within the minute the leaves of the tree withered and died, and afterwards the trunk caved inward, the life giving liquids within it gone. Satisfied, he carried on.

_They're all going to pay,_ Henry Wong thought to himself, _I'll make sure of it_. And to do that, he had to find somebody on the island. So he marched through the woods, searching for the home of his target. He encountered a small tribal village within the trees, home to various Ogremon, Fugamon, and Hyogamon.

He was looking for one in particular though, and skulked around the village until he found a small hut with a distinctive crest on it. Henry knew it as the crest of the Ogremon that was the main servant of Devimon while possessed by a black gear. He checked to make sure that nobody was around the immediate area, and went inside.

There was an Ogremon inside, making himself dinner. His back was turned to the flap door (the house's construction was similar to Shichiri Village's town center). Henry, controlling his breathing, sneaked behind Ogremon until he was a few feet away, and then announced his presence to the Digimon.

"How's life treating you Ogremon?" Henry spoke, surprising the Digimon.

"Huh, who are…" Ogremon speculated for a second after turning around, and then realize who had just confronted him, "Master- I mean, Henry. Where have you been?"

"That's not important right now," Henry hissed, "I need some information from you."

"W-what kind of information?" Ogremon stuttered.

"You remember Devimon's back up plan, right?" Henry inquired. "He had Kazu take some black gears and spread them around the digital world."

"Yes, I remember him having Kazu do that, but I don't remember where-"

"Remember, now." Henry commanded.

"Now listen you. I don't know if you've noticed but the whole "evil Digidestined" thing is over with. The Dark Masters were defeated and your other allies-!"

"Do not test my patience Ogremon!" Henry boomed.

"And don't you think you have any more power over me!" Ogremon snapped back, and then balled his hand into a fist. Henry responded by grabbing Ogremon's fist. Ogremon's knees buckled as his energy began to drain away. Henry let go after a second to let Ogremon recover."What the hell was that?" He exclaimed with a labored voice.

"That is just the tip of the iceberg of what I am going to do to you if you don't tell me what I want to know." Henry threatened. Ogremon, seeing the darkness in Henry's eyes, complied with his wishes.

"Okay, I think I remember one of them. Kazu put one of the gears in a prison from the great war era, up on Reboot Island. I don't know where in the building though."

"That's okay, you've provided me with all the information I need." Henry said with a sinister grin. "Thank you Ogremon." And with that, he grabbed Ogremon by the neck and killed him.

**Quasi-Gulag**

**Reboot Island, Digital World**

**The Next Day**

The prison was home to criminals of all sorts. Thieves, burglars, murderers, it was a meeting place for all that was foul. He killed about half of them and forced the other half into submission. It would be easier if he didn't have to do everything himself. He then used his newfound power of detection to locate Myotismon's black gear. He would recognize that energy signature anywhere, and he didn't even get the ability until after they had parted ways.

He walked down a few halls, up a few flights of stairs, and into what would have been a restroom in the real world, only this bathroom lacked everything but a single sink. In the back of the large room, which became illuminated about five minutes after he flipped the switch, was a massive black gear, far larger than most of the ones that Devimon used to control his minions.

_This must have been his main backup power source_, Henry thought to himself. _Now it's mine_. He then walked up to the gear and with surprisingly little difficulty lifted it off of the wall and placed it on the ground so he could have better access to it. He felt the dark aura that coated his body begin to interact with the gear, and quickly realized that he probably had the ability to manipulate it as well.

Focusing on a mental image of what he was trying to do, he pried off a piece of the gear, and watched it regenerate into a smaller black gear thanks to the aid of his dark energies. Then, with the same strength, he inserted it back into the main gear, where it perfectly merged with its parent object.

"What a neat parlor trick." Somebody behind him spoke. Henry turned around and was unsurprised to see Arkadimon and Leormon standing in the room.

"I've done what you asked. In a few years time that Digimon will be around a rookie or champion, and then I'll harvest that power source for you."

"Good," Arkadimon nodded, "And in the meantime?" He asked looking around the dark room as if to ask of its purpose.

"I've got some business to attend to, and the more minions I have the easier it will be to do it." Henry replied.

"Well then, whatever we can do to help, as long as it'll get us what we want."

"As a matter of fact there is," Henry replied, "Devimon used it to degenerate the Digimon before I arrived here, the dark beacon I believe it was called, tell me how I can wield it?"

"It's not something an average person (or Digimon) like you or I would be able to control unfortunately." Arkadimon answered to Henry's disappointment. "It takes a technological skill far beyond what you or I have."

"Then perhaps you should find someone who can." Henry proposed.

"This is the beginning of a beautiful partnership Henry," Arkadimon chuckled, "We'll find you some assistants. No sense in taking over the world if you have to do it alone."

"Yeah, you do that. I'll be right here, for the moment." Arkadimon and Leormon then exited the room, leaving Henry alone with his new belongings.

**High-End Living Quarters**

**The Metropolis, File Island, Digital World**

**8:24 A.M: January 14****th****, 2010**

Henry had a few powers. First and foremost, he could drain other entities of their energy, killing them in the process. He could then release this energy in the form of an attack, but if he absorbed too much at once it was more like an explosion. His energy absorbing abilities also allowed him to detect the unique energy signatures of humans and Digimon. In addition, the dark needle allowed him to interact and manipulate other objects of the same material.

Henry woke up and prepared for the day. He walked down the hall and went down the stairs, left the building, and rode a Maildramon to Primary Village, then continued searching for three particular energy signatures. And he did this all with an evil smile on his face. He would have kicked a puppy too, but there were none around. The visit from Arkadimon and Leormon last night had aggravated him, but in the end it had left him with a satisfied feeling.

They were just as desperate as he was to get what they wanted. And once they delivered on their end of the bargain, there would be nothing to stop him from taking the power source for himself and using it to increase his own powers and those of his partner. And once he did he would use it to eliminate the new and old Digidestined and make them pay for the suffering that he had to endure for the last hundred years.


	13. The Return

**Chapter Thirteen: The Return**

**Rooftop, Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**8:50 P.M: January 12****th****, 2010**

"You did what?" Izzy exclaimed excitedly. The first of many conversations had begun.

"How is that more impressive than what we did?" Yolei mumbled to herself.

"What exactly happened?" Izzy asked again.

"I was looking for Joe's house, I ran into J.P.'s instead; my digivice tracked his." Tai explained.

"So you found him, "said Izzy," but then you…?" Izzy trailed off, confused. Tai then explained to everyone what had transpired earlier. So, Gaomon wasn't able to Digivolve." Izzy observed. "The question is why?"

"I also commandeered this from him." Tai pulled the pieces of J.P.'s digivice from his pocket and set them down on the card table that Izzy had brought up to set his computer on.

"So now J.P. can't Digivolve Gaomon at all!" Gomamon climbed up onto the table and began to examine the device.

"But does it matter?" Yolei proposed. "If Gaomon couldn't Digivolve before, then not having a digivice isn't going to help him."

"But _why_ couldn't he Digivolve in the first place?" Tai emphasized.

"There's no data." Izzy realized.

"What do you mean there's no data?" Tai inquired.

"In the digital world," Izzy began one of his expositional speeches, "data is part of both molecules and energy, and is regulated by a super computer in the core plane of the digital world, which uses the data streams to transfer data to and from itself and other Digimon. We don't have that here. Data is only in the form of electrical signals in our world and they have no association with molecules. So there is no data or the energy combined with it to force the rapid evolution of Digimon. They can't change form at all: not to champion, or to in-training."

"Oh!" Yolei chirped. "Well that… doesn't really help us at all Izzy. That means our Digimon can't Digivolve!"

"But their partner's can't Digivolve either." Izzy restated.

"Yes, and neither can ours, which means we're only ones with a disadvantage, because they've been hanging around the rookie level from the beginning." Yolei reiterated.

"That was because they had their armor Digimon army to back them up." Gomamon added. "They don't have that army here."

"And we are older and stronger than two twelve year old boys." Tai stated. "If they want to start something, they're going to have a lot harder time of it."

"They're useless here," Izzy recapped, "and they're cut off from the digital world, which leaves Henry alone to do all of the dirty work."

"Have you seen Henry lately Izzy? He's not exactly a helpless child." Kari joined in on the conversation.

"There had to be some reason Henry brought those two into the fold though," Izzy reasoned, "And whatever that reason is, now Kairo and J.P. aren't there to do it."

"So we've just struck a major blow to the bad guys, we just have no idea what it is." Yolei stated.

"If that's how you want to look at it Yolei," Tai replied.

"Whatever the reason, it's not important right now." Izzy said. "What are important are the blueprints that Yolei and I found. They can help us to build a machine like Kairo's, which we can use to get to the digital world whenever we need to, without having to drain a car battery each time."

"How long will it take you to build it?" Kari inquired.

"I'm not sure. I haven't had the time to go over the schematics in detail. It's best if you get back to me on that tomorrow."

"Maybe we should stop for the night then." Tai proposed. "We can give Izzy time to go over the schematics and see what needs to be done, and then fill in the other Digidestined on our progress." Everyone agreed, and the members of the rooftop meeting then packed up and went their separate ways.

**Rooftop, Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**4:32 A.M: January 29****th****, 2010**

Izzy sat on the rooftop, tightening bolts. He stopped to rub his hands together, the winter cold biting at him. For the past two and a half weeks he had been interpreting Kairo's schematics and collecting materials. The day after the break in of Kairo's apartment, he had discovered just how complex this machine was, and had afterwards spent almost all of his free time secretly working on it; his parents were not pleased. That day the Digidestined had reconvened with the new Digidestined and had discussed the matters from the night before.

Once the Digidestined knew the machine would take weeks to complete, the Digidestined had to make arrangements for their partner Digimon, for Tai's parents would eventually access the penthouse garage. The four new Digidestined had found nooks and crannies in their homes where their partners could reside in the meantime, while Yolei agreed to board Hawkmon. Gomamon would stay in the garage for the time being and hide if the Kamiyas paid a visit.

Two weeks later, everyone had returned to an almost normal routine, with the exception of Izzy's secret pastime and the harboring of digital fugitives. Sora called from time to time to check on everyone's progress, while Takato filled in Iori and Jeri on what was happening. Fortunately for Izzy and his suspicious parents, however, that was all about to change. The machine was almost complete. This early Friday morning, Izzy was going over the digital portal and making sure everything was in order, and then he was going to test it.

"How goes the science?" Gomamon asked mid-yawn as he stumbled out of the garage to check on Izzy's progress.

"Surprisingly well," Izzy grunted as he finished attaching a wire-concealing panel on the outside ring, "I might actually be able to finish this thing soon. Kairo had some extremely well detailed schematics that offered a variety of materials to get the job done. I guess he didn't have access to multi-million dollar government technology either."

"Huh?"

"It's not important: but, we should be able to go back today," Izzy answered, "as long as everything goes smoothly when I test it."

"It'll be light soon," Gomamon yawned again, "perhaps you should conduct this test before the sun comes out and people start walking around."

"Actually," Izzy finished tightening another panel, "I think I'm done. Let me look it over a few times and I might be able to test it." Izzy then started to examine the machine for faults in construction and missing parts. Once he was done, he analyzed the programs on his computer (courtesy of Kairo's hard drive) that were supposed to operate the device and get them where they wanted to go, making sure they were all in order as well.

"You ready?" Gomamon asked Izzy as he walked towards him away from the machine.

"I think so." He passed Gomamon and arrived at the card table where the netbook was stationed, and began running programs. "Should we count down?"

"Three two one go." Gomamon replied sarcastically. Izzy rolled his eyes and then pressed the button.

"Here we go." He announced as the machine started. Izzy watched nervously as the internal components fired up, hoping it would work properly. Fortunately, his hopes were fulfilled when the mirrors on the inside of the ring began to glow. Seven lasers then shot out of the mirrors and collided in the center, then melted into a sheet of plasma that rippled across the inside of the ring until it covered the entire interior.

"It worked!" Gomamon cheered.

"It's so… stable." Izzy commented. "Wow, Kairo may be an evil bastard, but he's also a genius."

"So what's next?" Gomamon inquired.

"We gather the troops." Izzy replied. "The weekend is coming up, so we'll have two school-free days to get as much done in the digital world as possible."

"About time," Gomamon yawned, "it's only been what: 17 days? That means that Henry has had control of File Island for the past two and a half weeks."

"There's nothing we can really do about that Gomamon, other than getting back as soon as possible." Izzy replied as he shut down the machine. The portal then powered down and the plasma horizon vaporized.

"And on another note, if it took you two and a half weeks just to build this machine, don't you think it might have taken Kairo less time to fix the damage you and Yolei did to his?"

"One would think, but we did steal the only schematics for the machine that we found in his room, and his hard drive, though it's possible that he had spares stashed somewhere."

"Well that doesn't sound too hopeful."

"That's not all though. I was fortunate enough to run into Kairo while hunting for an important component to the machine last week at a pawn shop. I took it away from him when he wasn't looking and bought it. It's important enough so that he can't effectively run the machine without it and it was really hard for me to find, so I imagine that I got one of the last ones in the city. It'll take him some time to find what I took from him."

"Well that's awfully convenient." Gomamon partially glared. "You just happened to run into him at a pawn shop, just like that, while looking for an elusive piece of the machinery that he can't run the machine without?"

"You know you could complain about it or you could just be glad it happened that way."

"Hey Izzy, we should make sure this thing actually goes to the digital world," Gomamon proposed, "like a test run."

"I was going to later," Izzy replied, "I was going to tie an analog camera with automatic shutter control to a cord, send it through so it could take pictures, and pull it back."

"Well that's all fine and dandy," Gomamon retorted, "But if the camera drops into some random desert, how will you know for sure if what you've found is the digital world?"

"I was going to try it multiple times to get different areas of the digital world. It's better than sending somebody through to a potentially dangerous location and getting them hurt."

"You could do that Izzy, or you could send me in with your digivice. I can check the signal there to see if there are any other digivice signals within range to prove that it's the digital world, and then come back."

"Gomamon, there's no way I can let you do that." Izzy shook his head. "If it's not the digital world and I send you into some dimension void of oxygen or something else dangerous then you could die, and there's no way we can take that chance."

"Please Izzy, what are the odds this portal doesn't go to the digital world. Isn't it designed solely to take us there?"

"Gomamon, if I made a mistake it could potentially do all sorts of nasty things to us."

"Then wouldn't the best way to make sure that isn't going to happen to send someone in there and make sure?"

"Gomamon, I'm not going to-!"

"Just turn on the damn machine Izzy!"

"You know what, fine!" Izzy stormed over to his laptop and started the program on his computer. "If you want to go jumping into some unknown and potentially fatal abyss, be my guest!"

"It would be my pleasure." Gomamon said as a sheet of plasma formed in the ring. Gomamon then swept Izzy's digivice off of the card table and jumped into the portal.

"Gomamon!" Izzy called, but it was too late. Izzy now had to wait. He nervously drummed his fingers on the table, awaiting Gomamon's return. He did, twenty minutes later, fortunately looking no worse for wear.

"It worked. That's the digital world." Gomamon announced, looking a little flustered, and tossed the digivice he was holding back into Izzy's hands.

"Do you have any idea how reckless that was?" Izzy yelled.

"You know, you could yell about it or you could just be glad it worked." Gomamon stated sarcastically. Izzy, fuming, bit his tongue and walked off. Gomamon returned to the penthouse garage, confused. Neither one of them noticed the small gray cloud that had plumed out of the top of the portal as it closed. It evaporated by the time Izzy returned, and he went about his business none the wiser.

**Fukagawa Senior High School**

**Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**7:00 P.M: January 29****th****, 2010**

"What's your problem Taro?" Tai yelled at his teammate.

"It was an accident Tai; calm down." Taro grumbled as he wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, heading for the shower.

"You knocked me over when I was about to make a goal!"

"It is soccer Tai, relax."

"You were on my team!" Taro ignored his angry teammate, instead entering a shower room and washing off. Tai scoffed at the boy and returned to his locker, fuming at being assaulted by a member of his own team. This wasn't just an isolated incident: Taro had been snotty and rude to him for the past few weeks. Though his assault may have been blatant, but Tai's anger was residual. He hadn't been able to find Joe's family. Wherever his digivice was, Tai wasn't picking it up.

Worse, Joe's condition wasn't improving. He was still in the intensive care unit. The victories that the Digidestined had had over J.P. and Kairo seemed insignificant in comparison to this loss.

Tai decided not to dwell on it. He took his shower, dressed, and exited the locker room, trying to push both Joe and Taro out of his mind. As he walked down the hall, however, he spotted a familiar face sitting on a bench, reading a newspaper.

"Izzy, what are you doing here?" He inquired, and then a second later realized what Taro's problem was.

"Nothing: just reading the paper." Izzy answered. "Oh look, Fuji TV is getting a new news crew."

"Seriously, what's up?"

"The portal is ready."

"Really, when?"

"I wrapped it up early this morning."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well I was planning on telling you in computer lab but you were too busy sleeping."

"Oh yeah, I should really start paying attention in that class."

"I've called everyone: we're meeting on the roof in an hour. Are you ready?"

"I miss dinner when I'm at soccer practice. Let me grab something to eat and then I'll meet you up there."

**Rooftop, Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**8:02 P.M: January 29th, 2010**

Tai arrived on the rooftop. The rest of the human Digidestined, Gomamon, and Hawkmon were waiting for him there.

"I didn't miss anything, did I?" Tai inquired as he joined the group.

"I was just showing everyone the machine." Izzy replied. He was standing next to a blue tarp covering a large object. He pulled the tarp down and revealed the ring, almost an exact replica of Kairo's.

"And it works?" Kari inquired.

"Gomamon and I tested it this morning," Izzy replied, "it created a perfect gate to the digital world. Gomamon then went in and made sure that it went to the digital world."

"I hope I'm not too negative by asking this, but what do we do once we get there?" Sora asked. "We didn't do so well during our last encounter with Henry."

"A few things are going to be different this time," Tai answered, "For one thing, for the first time we're going back on our own terms. We'll have a battle plan based on what you guys learned about the Soldiers of the Glorious Revolution-" A snicker from Sora caught Tai's attention, causing him to glance at her.

"Sorry, it's just a stupid name." She blushed.

"Anyway," Tai continued, "We'll also have the added benefit of having two more Digidestined with partners there," Tai indicated to Iori and Jeri, who nodded in agreement, "and finally, I'll be going with you."

"No offense Tai, but how much good would you actually do?" Takato asked. "We had Joe with us before and: no disrespect, but, look how that turned out."

"Joe's a great guy but Tai has a few advantages over some of us when it comes to digital world relations." Yolei answered for him.

"Izzy, Kari, and I have more experience in the whole "rebellion forces" idea than Yolei and Joe, who were controlled by the dark needle and were part of the massive army we were fighting most of the time." Tai explained. "That also means that most Digimon we're likely to encounter- and no offense Yolei- like me better, thanks to my reputation."

"None taken." Yolei replied.

"Plus, we also elected him leader forever ago, so it only seems appropriate." Kari added half-sarcastically.

"When did we elect Tai as leader?" Yolei cocked her head.

"You were evil at the time."

"Oh."

"So what plan do we have for this incursion?" Iori inquired. "What's our primary goal?"

"Basically we have two days with an eight hour break in between to get into the digital world, dismantle as much of Henry's organization as we can, and get back out." Izzy started to explain. "In order to do that we're going to need to hit one main target: File Island. Primary Village is central to maintaining peace and order in the digital world, and right now Henry has control of it. We'll need to destroy the black towers he has put into place and then break any prisoners free."

"That sounds incredibly dangerous." Takato remarked. "We only have four Digimon that can Digivolve, and only Guilmon has made it to champion so far."

"Five," Hawkmon corrected him, breaking his previous period of silence. "I have the ability to Digivolve to my armor form, and I plan on using it to aid you as much as possible while the dark spires are still in place."

"Not only that, but according to Hawkmon most –if not all- of the Digimon under Henry's command are being controlled by the Black Gears." Izzy explained. "Once we take out the towers then we'll only need champion form to deal with the few stragglers who are obeying Henry willingly."

"Henry's domain is incredibly powerful, but it is also incredibly fragile." Hawkmon elaborated, "If the dark spires are taken down, then the dark beacon won't broadcast. I wasn't privileged too much information from my superiors, but I do know that Kairo modified the beacon to control the Black Gears instead of each gear autonomously controlling its host. The gears are so numerous widespread that Henry doesn't have the power to have each one control its own host."

"Speaking of Kairo, what about him?" Iori asked. "He is a boy genius, so even though we broke his portal, shouldn't he have the capacity to fix it in less time than it took us to build our own portal?"

"We stole all of the copies we could find of the machine's blueprints," Yolei explained, "that should at the very least slow him down."

"Also, a short time ago I managed to discover that Kairo is missing a hard to find and key component of the machine without which the portal will not work." Izzy answered, prompting Gomamon to secretly roll his eyes. "I've also had my digivice almost constantly connected to my computer, only disconnected for minutes at a time, tracking all of the digivices in our world. I have a program on my computer that keeps track of the number I want and alerts me if it changes. So far there hasn't been any fluctuation that I haven't accounted for, so we can safely assume that Kairo hasn't fixed his portal yet." His last statement prompted a confused grunt from Gomamon.

"We do have another problem though," Tai stated, "We don't know whether or not Henry will be on File Island when we get there. We're going to have to prepare to deal with him if the occasion arises."

"I know it's not the most desirable solution, but we've gotten a hold of some baseball bats." Yolei explained. "Sheathe them in a satchel tied to your waist, and if you do encounter Henry, use it to keep him from touching you at all costs."

"If we do find ourselves meeting Henry though, "Tai added, "We'll all be together. We're not splitting up on this mission, so if Henry attacks there will be five Digimon there to fight with us."

**Rooftop, Odaiba Apartments**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward: Tokyo, Japan**

**6:49 A.M: January 30****th****, 2010**

The night before, the Digidestined had discussed two more things: their plan for the File Island incursion, and how to cover up their day long excursion into the digital world. Takato, Sora, Iori, and Jeri had convinced their parents that Tai was taking them on a day trip into the city to see some museums pertaining to their schoolwork. This would give them ample time to get in, perform their task, and get out. Their plan, while covering a task that seemed too impossible for a single day, actually had a chance of succeeding. Four main dark spires broadcasted the dark beacon from the mainland. If they could destroy these four spires, then the signal would no longer broadcast on the island, and the Digimon being controlled by the dark beacon, and the island itself, would be free.

Now, the Digidestined (and Hawkmon) were gathered on the rooftop: Tai, Yolei, Izzy, Kari, Gomamon, Takato, Guilmon, Sora, Kudamon, Iori, Coronamon, Jeri, and Lunamon. Tai, Takato, Sora, Iori, and Jeri all had baseball bats tied to their waists, while Tai supported a small backpack with some food, water, first aid kit, and necessary camping supplies.

"Okay, one last time: is everybody ready?" Izzy asked as he looked over the programs on his computer to make sure they were all reflecting the correct information.

"Yes, Izzy," Tai sighed, "we're just as ready as the last four times you've asked us."

"I'm just being cautious." Izzy grumbled. "Okay, now I'm having my digivice lock onto Terriermon's signal in Primary Village. Henry may have control of the area right now, but it's going to take him a long time to find our partners in that sea of digi-eggs and baby Digimon. Hawkmon should go through a little before the others, so that he can make sure your drop point is secure. From there you'll make your way to the first of the four main dark spires." Izzy then started his computer program, and the portal machine responded by whirring and beeping. Seven lasers shot out of the mirrors on the inside of the ring, and then the familiar plasma surface emerged from the convergence point of the lasers.

"Are you okay Jeri?" Takato asked the girl next to him, who was failing to conceal her heavy breathing.

"I'm fine Takato, just a little nervous." Jeri replied between breaths. "Wouldn't you be if you were in my situation?"

"What?" Takato cocked his head.

"I've only been to the digital world for a few seconds, not like you and Sora. I just don't know what to expect."

"Well don't be nervous Jeri, be excited. How many kids our age do you know that get to travel across dimensions and save another world?"

"Of course I'm excited!" Jeri cheered to the surprise of the people next to her. "We're going to save an entire world!"

"What is this?" Izzy mumbled to himself, looking over the program.

"What's wrong Izzy?" Kari asked in response to his concern.

"There's some interference in the signal. I don't know what's wrong."

"Is it causing any real damage?"

"I like that spirit!" Coronamon cheered as well, "Lunamon, your partner is most impressive!" He said to his sister. "Iori, you could stand to take up the excitement a few notches." He spoke with less enthusiasm to his partner.

"Hey!" Iori protested.

"It doesn't look like it, but it's screwing with my connection with Primary Village enough to make me worry. It's almost like my connection is getting in the way of somebody else's signal." Izzy explained to Kari.

"Should we call this off?" Kari asked.

"I think we might have to." Izzy sighed. "I'm not comfortable with this interference. I'm afraid it might sever my connection and send our travelers way out of their way."

"Thanks Coronamon!" Jeri yelled. "Okay, now I'm pumped! Let's go!" Jeri cheered. She then grabbed her partner's arm and ran for the portal, and then jumped inside.

"Jeri!" Takato called after her, and jumped in with Guilmon to catch up with her.

"No!" Izzy gasped.

"Guys, wait up!" Sora called; then realizing the futile nature of what she had just done, ran after them and into the portal. "Come on Iori!"

"Yes, let us go!" Iori, Coronamon, and Hawkmon then followed.

"So much for that plan." Tai grumbled and ran after them.

"Stop!" Izzy yelled as Iori and Coronamon dived into the portal. Hawkmon heard his cry but could not stop before flying into it as well. Only Tai was able to screech to a halt before diving after the others.

"Izzy, what is it?"

"There's something wrong! My connection to Primary Village is being negated. It's about to-!" A beep on his computer attracted his attention. He checked the computer screen and with a sigh, finished his sentence- "break. It's not taking them to Primary Village anymore. In fact, I think it's taking them to the last place where there was a portal, since that's the most recently opened path."

"Gomamon, where did you end up when you checked to make sure you were in the digital world?" Yolei asked the Digimon.

"Oh no." Gomamon sighed.

"Where was it?"

"It's that prison, where we were brought to Henry, Kairo, and J.P: where you guys rescued us."

"Henry's base," Yolei gasped, "Tai, you have to-!" She stopped when she saw Tai backing away from the portal as a gray cloud expanded from the event horizon.

"Guys, what is this?" Tai asked nervously. A spark of static electricity then nicked Tai's finger, causing him to wince. Larger sparks could be seen from within.

"Izzy turn it off!" Kari ordered.

"Wait!" Tai tried to stop him, but it was too late. Izzy shut down the program, and the portal vanished. The grey fog then faded away. "What about Takato and the others? Turn it back on Izzy!"

"I'm working on it Tai!" Izzy barked. "Something obviously went wrong with the connection. I'm going to make a new one that's more stable."

"Okay, fine, sorry," Tai sighed. A ringing in his pocket then directed Tai to his phone. Tai dug it out of his pocket and checked who was calling. "It's the hospital." He answered the phone while walking away from the portal to avoid interference.

"Okay, I'm turning it back on." Izzy warned. The portal then whirred and the lasers converged, forming the plasma façade. As quickly as it turned on, the gray smoke then poured out of the portal and began expanding outwards rapidly. Large sparks of static quickly struck out from it, reaching out for any grounding shaft to discharge via. Yolei and Kari jumped back as two of the sparks nipped at their feet.

"Turn it back off!" Yolei and Kari yelled as Izzy irritably shut off the machine again.

"What is going on?" Izzy asked himself.

"Why'd you turn it back off?" Tai asked as he got off of the phone.

"That gray smoke came back Tai." Izzy answered. "I don't know why but there's something in the digital world that's trying to get out."

"Takato and the others are stuck in the digital world," Tai expressed once again; "we can't just leave them alone."

"I understand that Tai, but I am not going to even think about opening this portal again for at least a few hours. Whatever's trying to come out, it's causing a lot of electrical interference with the connection, not to mention the fact that it has so much energy built up from travelling through the data streams, that were it to cross over it would discharge all of the built up energy and probably electrocute us all."

"So they're on their own." Yolei sighed.

"It'll be okay." Tai tried to convince himself. "We survived in the digital world for a lot longer and with a lot less prior knowledge. They can make it a day. Right now we should focus on what we can handle." Tai breathed excitedly, staring at his cell phone.

"Did you hear something interesting on your phone call Tai?" Kari asked.

"Yeah, that was the hospital. Joe is awake."

**The Digital World,**

**The Data Stream**

**7:03 A.M: January 30****th****, 2010**

"Ugh…" Iori woke up to a throbbing in his forehead. He opened his eyes and then squinted in response to the brightness of the data stream. Adjusting his eyes, he leaned upwards to see Sora, Kudamon, Hawkmon, and Coronamon already awake. "It looks like we're missing some people."

"Yeah," Sora replied, "Takato, Jeri, and their partners jumped in before us, so we guess they're farther ahead. As for Tai…" She shrugged to complete her sentence.

"Izzy called for us to stop before we jumped in the portal." Hawkmon revealed. "I didn't have time to stop, but Taichi probably did."

"You don't think he left us, do you?" Iori asked.

"I don't think Tai would leave us alone out in the digital world. He's probably just a ways behind us like we're behind Takato and Jeri." Sora reasoned.

"You're probably right. Hey, does this headache ever go away?" Iori asked.

"I don't know. Mine's a little less extreme than last time." Sora answered. "But it's still pretty bad. Tai and Yolei didn't seem to have any problems last time, maybe it just takes some getting used to."

"It is getting brighter!" Coronamon cheered. "We are almost there!"

"Already?" Iori asked. "How long was I out?"

"For a while!" Sora yelled as the familiar ringing of the data stream exit began to drown out other noise. The light and sound then took over everybody's senses, and a few seconds later vanished and exposed everybody to what seemed to be total darkness. As everybody became adjusted to their new surroundings, however, they noticed that they were standing on a beach, between the water and a small hill of sand, as the sun began to arise.

"Is this Primary Village?" Sora asked, looking around.

"No." Hawkmon answered. "And Takato, Jeri, and their partners aren't here either. I believe we've been separated."

"So where are we now?" Iori questioned.

"Oh dear," was Hawkmon's response. The others looked up to see what he was looking at. They spotted a building in the distance, and next to it what appeared to be a large red blimp landing next to a dark blue command tower.

"What is this place?" Iori asked.

"That's the Digimon that we were transported on when the evil Digidestined captured us." Sora observed.

"That thing's a Digimon?" Iori exclaimed.

"Yes, and I'm afraid Henry has an entire fleet of them." Hawkmon answered regrettably. "It seems we've had the unfortunate pleasure of arriving on Shadowtech Island."

"What's Shadowtech Island?" Lunamon inquired.

"It's sort of a transfer station for Henry's empire. The Brimpmon are champion level Digimon, and would be afflicted by the dark beacon, so they land here, and passengers then take a boat to Reboot Island, where Henry's main base is."

"Of the champion level?" Coronamon asked. "Does that not mean that they cannot be controlled by the Black Gears, since they cannot be within range of the Dark Beacon?"

"Precisely," Hawkmon sighed, "and as a result every Digimon on this island is one that is working for Henry willingly, without the influence of a Black Gear."

"So Coronamon and I can Digivolve," Kudamon concluded, "but without a dark spire to take down, every single Digimon on this island would remain our enemy until we defeat them."

"But we don't have time for that," Sora stated, "we need to get to File Island."

"I don't think so." Iori countered. "We were dropped off here instead of Primary Village, which means something went wrong with whatever Izzy was doing to get us there. So why should we assume that Takato and Jeri made it there either?"

"Iori is right." Hawkmon concurred. "And while it may be morbid to think it I can't help but notice how close we've been dropped off from where we left the digital world the first time."

"You mean Reboot Island?" Sora asked nervously.

"You think Takato and Jeri are there?" Iori cried, pointing arbitrarily into the sea. Hawkmon responded by correcting him, pointing to the west instead of the south.

"It's a definite possibility," Hawkmon then responded, "and I fear it may be too important a one to ignore."

"But if we're here, then there's a good chance the others are too." Sora reasoned. "Perhaps we should check this island to see if they're here, and then go to Reboot Island to see if they're there." Iori proposed.

"It wouldn't be too hard to comb this island, it's small and barren. But Reboot is home to a huge dungeon castle with hundreds of rooms. We'd never be able to find them." Hawkmon turned down the boy's plan.

"Digivices!" Sora cried in excitement, pulling hers out of her pocket. "We really need to remember these things more often." She began pressing one of the buttons on the device repeatedly to expand its range.

"Well I just feel silly now." Hawkmon sighed.

"Okay, there aren't any digivices within the immediate area other than ours, but there are two digivices a ways to the west."

"That's where Reboot is located. But it doesn't mean that Takato and Jeri are there; it could mean that Kairo has gotten the machine to work again and has found his way to Henry."

"There's only one more digivice in the maximum range of my digivice though," Sora countered, "it's a lone signal coming way from the south."

"File Island," Iori stated what as on everyone's mind, "Henry must be there."

"It's possible that Henry is on Reboot right now, and that one of your friends was deposited on File Island while the other was deposited on Reboot."

"In either case, that means somebody is on Reboot and needs our help." Sora reasoned. "We can track their location within the castle with our digivices. We need to give it a shot."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you are correct." Hawkmon sighed. "We must go there. I only wish we had more manpower with us. Breaching the fortress on Reboot is not something to be done on a whim; it is a fortress in every imaginable sense of the word." As Hawkmon ended his sentence, the group heard a crunch of sand coming from the north. Everybody looked up the small incline to see a Yasyamon had wondered into their previously secluded location, probably drawn by the bright light and ringing noise that came from the now-evaporated portal.

"Oh dear," Kudamon mumbled. The Yasyamon then pivoted around and dashed away from the beach.

"Intruders!" He screamed as he ran.


	14. The Dawn of

**Chapter Fourteen: The Dawn of**

**Quasi-Gulag**

**Reboot Island, Digital World**

**7:02 A.M: January 30****th****, 2010**

Takato, Jeri, and their Digimon crash landed in complete darkness. It was in stark contrast to the intense bright light and ringing sound that had overwhelmed them a moment before. Takato forced himself to get off of the floor and adjust his eyes to the darkness. Once he could see again, he was able to make out the silhouettes of his three allies.

"Ugh, our arrival in the digital world is almost as bad as our last exit was." Takato groaned as he rubbed his temple. "And why is it so dark?"

"This is a concrete floor." Lunamon noted, tapping the ground. "I think we're inside a small room."

"Question is where?" Takato added. "This place feels familiar."

"It smells familiar, too." Guilmon noted. "It smells like… dog- no! Lizard…

"Does he smell who's been here before?" Jeri asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, he does that." Takato answered.

"And human… and- uh oh." Guilmon gulped.

"What is it Guilmon?" Takato asked his partner.

"Takato, I smell a Gaomon, a Monodramon, and three humans with dark needles up their butts. They've been hanging out here a lot."

"Oh, don't tell me." Takato moaned. He turned around, searching for a light source, and found a faint rectangle of light revealing the location of a door. He walked over to and opened the door, revealing the hallway outside and illuminating the room within. Takato turned his head and winced as he saw the features of the room, illuminated by the light from the hallway. The room was barren, except for a stone block in the middle of the floor, a sink in the corner near them, and a large shield hanging on the far wall. "We're back here."

"This doesn't look like File Island." Guilmon said warily. "Takato, I think Izzy messed something up."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"Is this where we rescued you guys when you were captured by Henry and the others?" Jeri inquired.

"Yeah, it is." Takato answered. "And I have no idea how to get out of here. And worse, it's really, really far from File Island."

"At least somehow, though," Lunamon began, sticking her head out of the door to examine the hallway, "we've arrived while nobody is around. I suggest we make our way out of here while we are still under this facility's radar." Takato and Jeri nodded in agreement, and the four then piled out of the dark room and into a stone hallway with unnaturally bright walls, as if they had been bleached to clean off some unwanted stain.

"Hey, you!" Something yelled from the end of the hallway. The four looked to see a large bull, coated in blue and gold armor from hooves to horns, and wearing a short red cape with an out-of-view symbol, standing at the corner of the corridor. "Intruders!"

"So much for that plan!" Lunamon sighed, and then lunged towards the Bullmon. "Tear Shot!"

**Shiokaze Park **

**Two Weeks Ago**

Gomamon swatted the attack away. The watery blast that had shot out of Lunamon's antenna exploded uselessly onto the ground, leaving Lunamon stunned. She stumbled a little, Gomamon's defensive tactic surprising her, allowing Gomamon to make his move. He sidestepped the off-balance rabbit and then swept his paw low, tripping his opponent so that she stumbled onto her face. Lunamon, not one to be stunned for very long, quickly rolled back onto her feet, but by that time Gomamon had already launched himself at her back. Lunamon quickly spun around and threw a punch towards her adversary, but Gomamon new better. With his back paw, he pushed himself up, changing his trajectory so that he flew above Lunamon, then grabbed her antenna and swung her over his body and into the ground.

"You're not learning!" Gomamon complained as he skidded to the ground beside Lunamon. His trainee quickly jumped up and tried to kick the seal-Digimon in the face, but he pulled back and rolled away before he could take any damage. "Your opponent is watching your movements, waiting to see what you'll do next. You need to do the same!" Lunamon, frustrated, rushed at him again and extended her arms. Her claws then began to glow a dark purple, a forewarning of one of her specialty attacks. Gomamon shook his head, and then countered. "Marching Fishes!" Out of nowhere, a stream of bony fishes then shot towards Lunamon from above, intent on knocking her out of her current path. Lunamon darted left the second they appeared, however, a different plan of attack in mind.

_So you are learning,_ Gomamon thought:_ just not enough_. He then jumped into the stream of fish and vanished from Lunamon's sight. She gasped, not expecting this move, and stopped her charge. She jumped backward, holding her glowing claws in a defensive position. Then the stream of fish exploded. Gaping fish scattered into different directions, too many for Lunamon to keep track of. Her attention diverted and overwhelmed, the rabbit didn't notice as Gomamon fell down towards her from above. He pounced on her and kicked the girl away. Coronamon, who had been sitting on the sidelines, caught her before she could roll into Hawkmon, Kudamon, and Guilmon's training session.

"You're too obvious with your ruse." Gomamon shook his head. "You rush at me, leaving yourself wide open to attack. Any rational opponent would deduce that you were just completely inexperienced or you were trying to fool them into defending against a frontal attack that would never arrive. Your opponent needs to believe that they know what you're doing, and that's when you change your attack. These are basics, guys."

"Basic to you," Lunamon responded, "you've a hundred and six years on me. Battle instincts come more naturally to you."

"And in time, they'll come more naturally to you too. Now try again." Gomamon instructed. Lunamon took a deep breath, and then ran at him again.

"And Coronamon, try helping out a little bit. What rule says that Lunamon has to fight alone?" Coronamon, surprised, took a deep breath as well, and then ran to join in on the fray.

Surprised at Gomamon's statement (she could have used the help before), Lunamon rushed forward again, directing a newfound rage towards her instructor.

**Quasi-Gulag**

**7:04 A.M**

Lunamon ducked low, aiming for Bullmon's feet. Bullmon responded, bending his ankles and lowering his head to protect his upper limbs. Lunamon's foot grazed the ground, enough to give her some leverage. She pushed upwards, rolled into a ball, and passed over Bullmon's head. The Digimon turned his head back in surprise to follow her movement, a foolish move.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon shot a fireball that collided with the monster's neck. Bullmon snapped his head back in pain and anger, his sights now fixed on the Guilmon. A primal emotion took over him, and his mind became consumed with rage. Bullmon galloped towards the red dragon as it took a defensive position between Bullmon and the two humans, who realized it was time to slide back into the room they had arrived in.

Unfortunately for Bullmon, a grip on his horns jerked his head back, forcing him to stop running so that he didn't snap his neck. The Lunamon that had jumped over him before was back, attached to Bullmon's horns so that he had minimal control of his neck movements. Ahead, the Guilmon smiled at him as he ran forward to attack. The fire blast had been a ruse to distract Bullmon so that Lunamon could get atop the armor Digimon's head.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon launched another attack, now confident in where he was shooting. Bullmon tried to jerk his head away, but Lunamon wouldn't let him. The blast hit his upper neck, and Bullmon cried out in pain. His knees buckled and he dropped to the ground, shaking Lunamon as they fell. Lunamon eased up on her grip, believing they had taken down their opponent, but was mistaken. Bullmon quickly jumped up and threw his head forward. Lunamon didn't have time to tighten her grip before she was thrown forward into Guilmon, knocking the both of them past the doorway.

Bullmon then charged towards them with his head lowered, intent on ramming his disoriented opponents. As he passed the doorway, however, a wooden bat swung outwards and collided with his knee. An immense pain shot up and down his leg, and the Bullmon tumbled over onto his left side as his leg gave way from under him. Unfortunately for Bullmon his horns smashed into the ground first, acting as a lever and vaulting his body over his head. Bullmon's horns than slipped out of their place and his body crashed down upon his skull, knocking the Digimon unconscious.

"Walking digivice my butt," Takato said coolly as he walked out of the room, twirling the bat in his left hand with a triumphant look upon his face.

"Good job Takato," Lunamon congratulated the boy as she and Guilmon crawled over the fallen monster, "though somebody might have heard that. We should get out of here before somebody comes to investigate the commotion."

"Maybe we should hide him though," Jeri suggested, pointing to the Bullmon, "in case somebody walks by here." Agreeing, the others then cooperated to push the Bullmon into the room they had arrived in. Lunamon then led the way down the hall where Bullmon had originated, and the others followed.

**Shadowtech Island,**

**7:08 A.M**

"Intruders!" The Yasyamon screamed as he ran, scrambling back towards the settlement on the island.

"Everyone's going to know we're here!" Iori squealed.

"Give me a second." Hawkmon sighed, and then jumped forward. In mid-air, he became enveloped in a bright light and changed form into the ninja Shurimon. Shurimon then dashed with incredible speed up the hill and within range of the Yasyamon. "Forgive me friend," Shurimon whispered to himself, and then pulled his arm back to strike.

He thrust his arm forward, and his shuriken palm spun forward rapidly, propelled by the spiral arm extending from Shurimon's shoulder. The shuriken's blades jabbed into the center of Yasyamon's back, knocking the fleeing Digimon onto his stomach. The Yasyamon twitched for a few seconds before exploding in a shower of data.

Shurimon retracted his arm as he landed in the sand. A series of soft crunches from behind directed Shurimon's attention to Coronamon, Kudamon, and their partners, who were running up the hill to meet him.

"That was quick thinking." Sora congratulated Shurimon as she and the others joined him.

"I only hope that it was quick enough." Shurimon lamented. "If anybody heard him, then we will soon have the full force of Shadowtech Island's inhabitants upon us." As he said this, he looked to the buildings beyond: a group of warehouses, used to store the cargo brought to the island, were straight ahead. A landing field with a few Brimpmon stationed was situated next to the warehouses, along with a string of buildings used for maintaining the Brimpmon. Beyond, the islands barracks, where all the workers lived, could be seen in the distance. The airport, warehouses, and barracks were all tan and grey, matching the bleak, vegetation-lacking landscape of the island. Shadowtech was basically a barren and sandy rock in the middle of the ocean.

"It looks like we're safe- for the moment at least." Iori sighed with relief.

"Yasyamon 224, come in." A voice sprang from the sand in front of them. The group jumped in surprise at the sound. Coronamon then spotted a small black object on the ground and procured it: a small, shortwave radio, left behind as it wasn't a part of Yasyamon's data.

"Iori, from now on, don't talk." Sora growled.

"Oh dear," Shurimon murmured, and then took the radio from Coronamon's hand as the radio emitted another message.

"224 come in. What was your last communication? Over." The radio buzzed once again. Shurimon cleared his throat, indicating he was about to try and resolve the situation, and then spoke into the radio.

"Uh, this is Yasyamon 224. Please scratch that last communication, over." Shurimon spoke with a raspy and unusual voice.

"It sounded like you said intruders, 224. What did you find? Over."

"Uh, nothing sir. Thought I saw an incoming vessel, but it was just a large piece of scrap board riding a particularly large wave. Nothing to worry about sir, over."

"What's wrong with your voice, 224? You sound like you just swallowed a mouthful of sand or something, over."

"Uh, yes sir. I took a nasty tumble just a second ago: breathed in a mouthful of it" –Shurimon faked a cough- "and I'm still trying to cough it out, over." The response came a few suspicious seconds later.

"What's the pass-key 224? Over." A suspicious voice asked from the other line. Shurimon froze up for a second. He knew the pass-key, used to distinguish Soldiers of the Glorious Revolution from impersonators, from three weeks ago, but he had no idea if they'd changed it since he left.

"Uh, 1138, over." Shurimon answered, hoping that would suffice. Nobody answered for the next few seconds, making Shurimon tense up.

"Just checking, 224: that'll be all, over and out." The voice finally spoke. The conversation was then terminated, and Shurimon dropped the radio from his face.

"Do you think he bought it?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Unless they neglected to change the pass-key after my 'betrayal'," Shurimon answered, "I doubt it."

**St. Luke's International Hospital**

**7:20 A.M**

Tai walked rapidly through the hallways of the intensive care unit, steering through the maze of hallways towards Joe's room. Izzy had stayed behind to deal with the problems that had arisen after the portal activated, while Kari had remained to act as his sounding board. Yolei had dropped Tai off at the front doors and had then gone to park the car.

He arrived in an enclosed hallway with multiple beds lined on each wall, each holding a comatose patient attached to machines and an I.V. line: all except one. In the bed farthest from Tai's point of entry, Joe Kido sat up in his bed, feasting on a cup of Jell-O. A tall man with combed blue hair stood next to him, chatting with the patient quietly.

"Joe…!" Tai whispered in cheer, alerting the two men to his presence. Joe waved him over, and Tai strode over to the Digidestined of reliability with relief. "Joe, I'm so glad you're okay. I talked to the doctors just last week and they said that your condition wasn't improving."

"The doctors said that's when he started to get better," the unknown man addressed Tai, "about a week ago."

"Hey Tai," Joe spoke, "This is my brother Jim. Jim," He turned to his brother, "This is Tai, Taichi Kamiya." The two shook hands, now acquainted.

"The doctors couldn't get in touch with you all this time," Tai said to Jim, "we searched all over the city for a Kido household missing this guy." He pointed to Joe with his thumb in a relieved manner.

"My brother's last name is Hitachi," Joe once again answered for Jim, "it's a family thing." He explained. "You'd never find him looking for Kido."

"My brother lives with me in Tokyo for school," Jim explained, "But our parents live up north. Around the time Joe disappeared, I got a call from our mother saying my Dad had just had a heart attack. I had already checked many of the hospitals multiple times-"

"I'm guessing this one before I got here," Joe interrupted. Jim ignored him, continuing.

"And I had filed a missing persons report with the police, so I had to go check on my Dad." Jim finished.

"Hey Jim, want to get me some more Jell-O?" Joe asked, handing his brother an empty canister. Jim happily obliged, running off to get his hospitalized brother more nourishment, and left Joe and Tai alone.

"We were worried sick about you Joe, I'm so glad you're okay." Tai sighed. Joe nodded, not really answering. "I guess we caught a really lucky break there. Not being able to find your family while you were in such a critical condition was not a pleasant experience." Tai said with a half smile. A look in Joe's eye suggested that he wanted to talk about more serious matters. Tai understood. "So, do you remember what happened?"

"You mean do I remember Henry appearing out of the blue after 104 years and sucking the life out of me with his hand? Yeah, I remember. What did you tell them happened to me?"

"I told them I got a call from you on a payphone: said somebody had mugged you, but when I found you, you were too beat up to tell me anything else. They didn't sound very convinced. You were really bad off Joe. Henry's got some crazy powers now."

"Yeah, I noticed," Joe replied sarcastically, "have you done anything about that in the two weeks I've been in here?"

"Yeah, there's a lot you missed out on, but for a multitude of reasons we haven't been able to go back until now. We were actually heading out into the digital world just a few minutes ago, before the doctors called. Takato, Sora, Iori and Jeri- they're also new Digidestined- are there right now. I was about to go with them, but there were… complications."

"What kind of complications?"

"It's a really long story, and Izzy's better at it than I am. We should get you out of here first, and then we can fill you in on everything that's happened. First though, we should find some way to get you away from your brother."

"Why's that?" Joe asked sincerely.

"Well, Joe, I mean you could take a break if you need it, but we're kind of under the gun here. Those complications are a little more important than I initially hinted at, and on top of that Takato and the other new Digidestined are out in the digital world alone, without our help."

"Well," Joe replied, "I was thinking that we'd just tell him."

**Quasi-Gulag**

**7:25 A.M**

Guilmon led the way down the curved corridor. The blanched walls had given way to dark stone bricks, and empty, closed prison cells now lined the right wall. The four were now out of the administrative section of the floor and into the epitome of the building's likeness to a Soviet era prison. The layout of the hallway was not shared with any rational prison system, however; it was taking a very peculiar direction. After turning the corner from the hall that they had arrived in, the corridor had initially gone straight. However, once the bleached walls disappeared and the prison cells began, the corridor had begun to curve: slightly at first and now very sharply.

The group knew that the prison hallway was curling inwards, but they could not turn back. Voices from the behind suggested that more Digimon were behind them, following their path yet oblivious to their presence. The Digidestined could only hope that once they got to the end of the path that they'd find a staircase to continue onwards. If not, then they'd have to face these new opponents once they got to the end.

"Hey!" A voice yelled from behind. Takato, who was positioned in the back of the herd, flinched and then turned his head to see if the Digimon behind them had accelerated and spotted them. He gave a quiet sigh of relief when nobody was there, and continued walking.

"What is it Prariemon?" Another Digimon asked, this voice slightly closer to Takato than the previous one.

"I found Bullmon unconscious in the execution room." The word Bullmon made the hairs on Takato's back stand up. "I woke him up, and he said he was attacked by a Guilmon, a Lunamon, and two human children."

"Uh-oh." Takato grunted.

"What?" Another Digimon gasped. The monsters behind Takato had all stopped to have their conversation.

"We should run now." Takato whispered to Jeri, who nodded nervously in agreement. The four then shared a glance, and started down the hallway as quickly and quietly as they could.

"Yeah, and I just came from the other hallway. They must have come down this one."

"Damn it, they're probably right ahead of us!"

"Wait, I hear them, they're running for it!"

"Time to move faster!" Guilmon commanded, their presence discovered. Guilmon then backed up behind Takato and shoved his head in between Takato's legs, throwing Takato onto his back, and increased his speed. Lunamon, unable to carry Jeri, grabbed her hand and started running faster as well, to the great displeasure of her partner, who was now forced to run/be dragged far faster than she was comfortable with.

"Get them!"

Guilmon and Lunamon ran as fast as they could with the weights they were carrying, but they felt themselves slow. And it didn't take long for the Prairiemon that had reported the disturbance with Bullmon to catch up with them. The Prariemon, a tall rabbit with metal ears and metal gloves on his hands, each tipped with three long red claws, was now closing the small distance he had left between himself and the closest human child: Jeri. His arms were widened as he prepared to slash at Jeri's heels.

"Turn!" Guilmon suddenly commanded, and then vanished around a hallway that suddenly appeared amidst the bland brick wall. Lunamon, careful of the girl she had in tow, followed the turn, almost smashing Jeri into the wall, but made it nonetheless. Prairiemon wasn't expecting the turn and, being last in line, had to scramble to a stop in order to stop himself from smashing into the wall. He gathered his bearings as the two Digimon and children widened the gap in between them, and then took off after them again.

"Argh! He's still gaining on us!" Guilmon grumbled as they ran. They were now passing hallway after hallway of what appeared to be the main prison corridor. They were now in some sort of access route from the outer corridor to the inner. It wouldn't take them long to reach the center though. Before long, Guilmon could see the hallway spilling out into a large open circle.

"Ayah!" Jeri squealed from behind. Guilmon turned his head to see Prairiemon, now literally at their heels once again, slashing at Jeri's feet. Guilmon turned his head back and tried to run faster, encouraging Lunamon to do the same. But the rabbit was hindered by Jeri, who was slower on foot and now was beginning to stumble thanks to the high speed and the assault on her feet.

As they reached the center, Guilmon noticed that there was a rail a ways inside the circle. A cage sat in the middle of the room, suspended from a large chain and connected to the two sides parallel to him by bridges. Only then did Guilmon realize that the center of the room had no floor; it was a drop off. Guilmon slowed down as he approached. Since Takato was on his back and not being dragged behind him, he was faster than Lunamon and had room to slow down. He stopped, dropped Takato off of his back, and turned around, preparing a Pyro Sphere to launch at Prairiemon when he got a clear shot. But Lunamon, not realizing that Guilmon had stopped (she was too focused on Prairiemon) kept running.

"Lunamon slow down!" Takato called to the rabbit.

"What?" Lunamon cried back, turning her head. But she didn't have time. As soon as she saw Guilmon and Takato standing still she tried to slow down, but Jeri, not paying attention to her forward, kept running to keep her feet safe from Prairiemon's attacks. The two stumbled over each other and crashed into Guilmon and Takato, knocking all four of them over the railing.

**St. Luke's International Hospital**

**7:25 A.M**

"Tell who?" Tai asked Joe in disbelief.

"Tell Jim," Joe answered as if it were completely rational.

"Tell Jim what?" Tai asked; his brain was unable to comprehend what Joe was saying.

"Come on Tai," Joe sighed, exasperated, "About Digimon, the digital world, what we did there, everything."

"And why on earth would you do that?"

"Well why not? Are you telling me you haven't told anyone else about the digital world since its come back into our lives?"

"No I haven't."

"Why not?"

"Because it sounds crazy to any rational human being."

"Yeah, if we had no proof. Which would be the case any other time, but we've been there and back again this time, and according to what you just said, there again. Gomamon's here right? I mean, I'm imagining you didn't just leave him there and only rescue me, Takato, and Sora."

"Yeah, he's here. I guess we do have some proof but, only of the existence of a talking clawed seal: not of an entire world of anthropo-" he stopped himself, as if Izzy were watching him- "humanoid creatures connected to our world by the internet. Besides, even if we did have a ton of proof, what's the likelihood that he'd believe us?"

"I think you lack a certain faith in people that I have Tai." Joe smiled. "Besides, I know my brother a lot better than you do, and trust me: if we provide him with enough information and evidence, he will believe us. Yolei!" His attention was redirected to the girl with long purple hair that had just walked up from behind Tai.

"Joe!" Yolei cheered with relief, and then gave Joe a semi-hug as she was standing and he sitting. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately."

"Has Tai filled you in on everything?" Yolei inquired.

"More or less," Joe shrugged, "apparently Izzy's supposed to fill in the blanks. I'm pretty anxious to learn what you guys have figured out since I've been in here."

"Good: when do you think you'll be able to get out of here to do that?"

"My brother's a shrewd negotiator. He'll have me out of here in the next hour."

"Your brother?" Yolei asked with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Joe has a brother," Tai addressed Yolei, "name's Jim. He wants to tell Jim about the Digimon and the digital world."

"Ooh, that's a good idea." Yolei exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Tai dropped his jaw in disbelief. "Am I the only one who thinks that broadcasting the existence of the digital world might land us in a mental institution?"

"Oh, please Tai," Yolei scoffed, "you should be more trusting in people."

"Here you go Joe." Jim announced as he returned to the bed, holding a fresh cup of Jell-O in his hand, which he preceded to hand to Joe. "Oh look, more friends of Joe's who I've never met or heard of before."

"Hi, I'm Yolei." Yolei introduced herself, brushing her hair behind her ear before holding out her hand to shake Jim's.

"Hi, Jim Hitachi," Jim introduced himself.

"Hey Jim, you think you could get me out of here in the next hour or so?" Joe asked his brother.

"I could try, but the doctors will probably want to keep you overnight for a day or two for observation." Jim answered. "Why, what's the rush?"

"Well, you know the story Tai and I told the doctors, about me getting mugged?" Joe asked, prompting a grunt of irritation from Tai.

"Yeah, the one that doesn't fit with the fact that you came into the hospital looking like you just spent a week locked in a damp basement with no food or water?"

"Yeah, about that…"

**Quasi-Gulag**

**7:28 A.M**

Jeri held her dress down as she fell, so it would not fall over her head. Eyes shut tight, Jeri tried not to think about her impending doom. The thought brought tears to her eyes. But as she continued to fall and continued to not die, she regained the courage to open her eyes. The four of them had been falling for over ten seconds and had not hit the ground, a good sign. But as they continued to fall, the more momentum they would gain, and the harder they would it the ground. Self preservation then kicked into Jeri.

She looked around, trying to determine any way to stop her descent. She flew past a steel cage hanging next to her, suspended from a chain that was held up by a steel cage above it. She looked down and saw a string of steel cages below her. She reached out for the next one, but her speed was too great and the edge just struck her palm and caused her to reel back her hand and coddle it. _Not a good idea._ She then noticed that the last steel cage was only two levels down, and below that the chain continued below the last floor.

"There," she screamed to gain the attention of her comrades, and pointed to the chain hanging from the last steel cage. She passed the metal structure, and then reached out for the chain hanging from it. It was too rough at first, throwing her hand off due to the friction, but she grabbed again, and gained just enough pull to drag her feet over to it. The then wrapped her legs and arms around it, and began to slow down. The others followed her example.

They slid down for a while, longer than they had been falling freely, until the series of metal rings suddenly ended into nothingness. Jeri slipped off unintentionally, not knowing that the chain suddenly stopped in the middle of the air.

"Agh!" She cried, thinking her plan had failed, and that she was now about to fall to her death once again. Fortunately she hit the ground quick. She fell about ten feet down and hit something solid. Reacting quickly, she bent her knees and rolled the rest of the way onto the ground, protecting her legs from injury. "The floors a short way down!" She yelled quickly. "Roll when you hit the ground!" She warned her unsuspecting companions. A series of grunts followed, indicating that the others had arrived.

"Is everybody okay?" Takato groaned a second later.

"Takato, that wasn't any fun." Guilmon whined.

"Jeri, are you intact?" Lunamon asked from somewhere in the darkness. The only light came from the hallways above, and it didn't reach down to the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Luckily I remembered what Yolei told me about hitting the ground from really high; otherwise all our legs might be broken."

"Well the important thing is, we escaped that Digimon." Takato remarked. "And I doubt if he thinks we're alive, after the fall we took."

"They'll still be looking for our bodies though." Jeri countered.

"That is all the more reason to hatch our escape plan as quickly as possible, before they find us alive and then proceed to maim and kill us." Lunamon said cheerily, as if oblivious to her own words.

**The docks, Shadowtech Island**

**7:32 A.M**

"What's going on here?" Submarimon arrived at the dock of Shadowtech Island to find Digimon scrambling about the island, going in and out of buildings and marching across the rock and sand of the bare parts of the island, not monitoring computer equipment, stationed at guard posts, or carrying boxes between warehouses and Brimpmons. This wasn't part of their job description.

"Sir," A Togemon noted the general's presence and ceased whatever activity he was previously participating in, "what are you doing here?"

"Answer the question." Submarimon barked.

"There's an intruder on the island sir. They assassinated one of the Yasyamons. We're trying to find him now."

"What? Get me a radio and put me in contact with MadLeomon."

"That's not the best idea sir," the Togemon replied, "He has access to one of our radios, and he knew an obsolete pass-key. The boss wants to keep the radios clear of any indication that we're looking for the intruder."

"Agh!" Submarimon thrashed in the water. "Take me to him!"

"Sir?" In response Submarimon then threw himself out of the water, over the dock.

**"Slide Evolution!"**

**A warehouse, Shadowtech Island**

**7:34 A.M**

Iori peered over the top of the crate, a direct line of sight to the doorway from their elevated position on top of a stack of boxes. Behind the crates, within the warehouse closest to their point-of-arrival, the group was relatively safe from discovery. Iori was cautious, however, and constantly checked the door ahead of them, wary of the few Digimon that had walked in and out of the building.

"Iori," Shurimon whispered from his side, pulling the boy back into concealment, "Nagging over their comings and goings is not going to do anything for us. Calm your nerves."

"Sorry," Iori whispered, "I've just never been in this situation before."

"And under any circumstance your nervousness would be not only warranted but encouraged. But I assure you, we are well hidden in this position. These warehouses are a maze of crates and boxes that would take weeks to properly comb over."

"There hasn't been any chatter on the radio," Sora noted, holding Yasyamon's communication device in her hands, "Are you sure they're looking for us?"

"It's because they want us to think that everything is status quo." Shurimon answered. "Our presence here has been alerted by word of mouth. The Digimon will search for us as quietly as they can, so we believe nothing has changed. But they're not following normal procedures, doing any real work, so it's obvious that something is up.""

"Yeah, we'll be okay here." Sora tried to reassure Iori. "We just have to hide here until they pass over this area, then we can find a boat and head on over to Reboot."

"Yeah, sure," Iori nodded, _I hope you're right._

**Administrative office, Shadowtech Island**

**7:38 A.M**

Digmon stood outside MadLeomon's office, tapping his foot. Submarimon's alternate armor evolution was akin to a semi-humanoid beetle, with yellow curved armor covering his body and two large drills for fingers. A drill also sat on top of his snout, and purple markings covered his hard yellow shell, which covered and protected Digmon's insect-thin wings.

A tall door opened, and MadLeomon finally stepped out to meet his associate. Unlike his Leomon counterparts, MadLeomon was decrepit and crooked. His skin was purple, his main a long and ragged mess hanging over his hunchback. His arms were long and disproportionate. His knuckles dragged along the ground and his forearms were bound by black belts.

"It's about time you got out here." Digmon barked at MadLeomon's arrival.

"Calm yourself Digmon," MadLeomon shook his head, "what is it you want?"

"What's happening here; who's the intruder?"

"We don't know. But it's a big complex, and those warehouses take a while to search. But whoever it is killed Yasyamon, and tried to use an outdated pass-key."

"What was the pass-key?"

"1138." The answer made Digmon glare.

"That pass-key is only two weeks old."

"Yes, but it was replaced recently due to-" MadLeomon stopped, homing in on what Digmon was getting at. "You don't think Shurimon-?"

"I think it's just like a traitor to return to finish off his sabotage." Digmon snapped. "Do you have a speaker system anywhere?"

"Yeah, in there," MadLeomon nodded to his office, "why?"

"And you have a man here for each building, correct?"

"A 1:1 ratio, like always. Except for the loss of Yasyamon. But you're here now."

"Good. Position every soldier you have in the barracks, warehouses, and hangars. Use the radio; we won't need secrecy for most of this. Then give me the radio."

"What are you going to do?" MadLeomon asked.

"The intruder will have the radio on so he can listen to our activity. That's how we'll find him."

**A warehouse, Shadowtech Island**

**7:50 A.M**

Shurimon sat with the radio in his hand. His shuriken was set on the ground, and the three appendages he used to hold the shuriken were now acting as fingers so he could hold the radio close to his ear. He had just heard the command from MadLeomon for every inhabitant of the island to position themselves inside one of the buildings. He sat impatiently, listening to every Digimon check in, ticking down the seconds until whatever MadLeomon's plan was came into action. He knew the details of Shadowtech Island: one Digimon for each building, fifty buildings. Eventually, fifty Digimon would sign off, and MadLeomon would be set up to find them. He just didn't know how.

"What's going on?" Kudamon asked the armored warrior. "Why are they having every Digimon on the island go into every building and do nothing?"

"I'm not sure," Shurimon replied, "But MadLeomon, the leader of this base, is nothing short of sadistic. Whatever his plan is, we're not going to like it."

"Ha!" Coronamon scoffed. "Likely a faulty attempt to try and locate us. This MadLeomon will have no such luck pinpointing our location within this sea of boxes." A bang sounded, startling the overconfident lion.

"The Digimon assigned to this room is here." Shurimon whispered. "Be quiet." He then peaked over the edge to get a look at the Vilemon that was now walking down the corridor or crates. He reached the center, and then reported his placement.

"Warehouse three ready." He spoke.

45 Digimon reported.

"Warehouse seventeen ready." A voice spoke over the radio. Shurimon turned down his radio to keep from being detected.

"Barracks four ready."

"Hangar two ready."

"Boathouse ready."

49 Digimon reported. That concluded all of the Digimon on the island. There were only 49 Digimon thanks to Shurimon's actions.

"Administrative office ready," A raspy voice sounded over the radio, surprising Shurimon. There was a fiftieth inhabitant of the island once again. "When I give the signal, you know what to do." The voice had also passed along instructions on the next step, off the radio waves. Shurimon was now at the mercy of fate. He could only hope that whatever they were about to attempt, it wouldn't be effective.

"Now." The voice commanded. Shurimon watched the Vilemon with anticipation, but he only lifted up his radio and turned it off.

"What…?" Shurimon mumbled. Then MadLeomon's trap sprung. A horrible screeching sound burst from Shurimon's radio, alerting the Vilemon to Shurimon's location. Shurimon realized what had just happened: MadLeomon had placed the radio receiver next to a speaker, creating feedback that would reverberate through all the handheld radio units. The Digimon had been ordered to turn their radios off, so that Shurimon's would be the only one to emit the noise.

And it had worked.

Shurimon reacted quickly. He smashed the radio with his bare hand, and jumped up to get a good view of the Vilemon, who had spotted him as soon as the feedback had sounded. Vilemon raised his radio and turned it back on.

"They're in warehouse three-!" Vilemon yelled just before Shurimon's blade slammed into Vilemon's skull.

"Damn it!" Shurimon swore as he retracted his arm. "We need to get out of here now!" He pulled the other four out of the hole, and led them down the pile of boxes.

"What did they do?" Coronamon asked as they descended.

"MadLeomon positioned his men in every building of this base, and then had them turn their radios off. Then he started a loop between the radio and a speaker, causing feedback that broadcasted through our radio, giving away our position."

"Clever bastard," Sora grumbled.

"I don't think it was MadLeomon." Shurimon replied. "A different voice gave the instructions to turn off the radios from the administrator's office."

"A different voice?" Iori asked.

"Yeah, a familiar one." Shurimon answered as he finally dropped to the floor. He helped everyone else get down, and then led them towards the back, where a less conspicuous exit was. Then a loud bang near the front alerted them that they had just run out of time. "Blast it all to hell, they're here." Shurimon stopped and led the way down a corridor of boxes, and stuffed the other four into a hidden corner, opting to hang out into the hallway for space.

"Shurimon!" A voice boomed from afar. Not only did they know that he was here, they knew who he was. "Come out now!" Shurimon didn't respond. He did, however, finally make out the voice that was talking to him.

"Digmon…" Shurimon whispered.

"Listen," Digmon yelled, "If you don't come out now, you're going to force our hand. If you won't come out, then we'll burn this warehouse down."

"What did you just say?" Another voice, which Shurimon identified as MadLeomon, yelled at Digmon. A series of whispers followed.

"This Digmon sounds a lot more sadistic than MadLeomon was made out to be." Iori commented.

"MadLeomon's sadistic, but he's also practical." Shurimon answered quietly. "He'll burn down this warehouse, laughing while he does it, but only if the benefit outweighs the cost. Right now Digmon is just focusing on finding me and making me pay for my 'betrayal'. He acts on pride, while MadLeomon thinks things out first."

"Who is this Digmon?" Sora asked.

"You might know him better in his other armored form, Submarimon." Shurimon answered to Sora's surprise. Iori was unaffected.

"Listen Shurimon!" Digmon continued, his conversation with MadLeomon over. "You can come out now, and we can handle this like gentlemen. But if you make me flush you out by burning down all of this merchandise, then when I eventually do find you- and you know I will- it will be far less pleasant!" Shurimon turned to his comrades with a dreadful look on his face. They shared the expression. Nobody knew what to do.

"This is your last chance Shurimon!" MadLeomon yelled, now in agreement with Digmon's plan. "We'll give you till the count of ten to reveal yourself to us, or this place catches fire!"

"Ten!" Digmon yelled.

Shurimon stood clueless.

"Nine."

He turned to Sora and Iori, huddled with their partners. There was no way the three of them could fight their way out of the situation.

"Eight!"

Even if both Coronamon and Kudamon could learn to Digivolve, they'd still be outnumbered over 16 to 1.

"Seven!"

He at least had to keep the two children safe.

"Six!"

He would reconfigure. Sora and Iori would not.

"Five!"

A plan formed in his head.

"Four!"

Though it wasn't a very good plan.

"Three!"

It might result in his escape, or it might result in his death, but either way he had to take a chance.

"Two!"

"Stay here. Don't reveal your presence." Shurimon ordered Iori, Sora, and their partners.

"What?" They asked in shock.

"One!"

"Just do what I say. Don't reveal your position." He ordered.

"Okay, if that's what you want!" Digmon taunted. "Let it burn!" He ordered.

"Wait!" Shurimon yelled. "I'm coming out!" Iori, Jeri, and the Digimon watched in horror as Shurimon slowly walked out of the alley and into the open, in view of Digmon and MadLeomon.

"Shurimon, now how did I know it was you?" Digmon asked triumphantly as Shurimon slowly walked over to them.

"No funny business now Shurimon," MadLeomon commanded, "This entire building is surrounded by all of our forces."

"I wouldn't dream of it MadLeomon." Shurimon scoffed.

"Now, what in the name of Yggdrasil are you doing here?" Digmon asked cockily.

"Well in my defense, it wasn't exactly my plan to come to this island of all places, it just sort of worked out that way."

"Planning more sabotage of our military now, 'traitor'?"

"I'll admit to the sabotage part, but I was never a part of your army. I was being controlled. I didn't have any control over my own actions, unlike you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Digmon growled.

"I mean, at the end of the day, how do you look yourself in the mirror, knowing what you're doing, and that you're doing it willingly?"

"Don't you dare judge me, Shurimon. You've no idea of my reasoning."

"I've heard enough of this." MadLeomon barked. "This traitor has nothing to offer us. He hasn't had enough time to conduct any sort of effective sabotage. I say we kill him right now."

"I'm sorely tempted to agree with you MadLeomon." Digmon grinned. "Don't worry Shurimon," he addressed his former ally, "I promise you it will be quick and extraordinarily painful."

"Oh, that's so comforting." Shurimon retorted.

* * *

"They're going to kill him." Iori whined as he watched the events unfold from behind his crate.

"I know," Sora sighed, "But there's nothing we can do."

"But we can't just leave him out there to die for us. He's doing this to protect our lives. I can't just sit back and not help."

"But Shurimon can get reconfigured. We can't. If they-" Sora gulped- "kill us, then we're gone forever. Shurimon won't be."

"I just…" Iori watched with a rising fear. "No, I can't. Tai said that the original Digidestined were in the heat of things, and that was the only way that their partners evolved and they made any progress. We've got to do the same." He turned to his partner. "Are you with me Coronamon?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Coronamon nodded. "Let us mop the proverbial floor with their faces of a poor quality."

"I'm not even going to ask what that means." Iori shook his head. "Let's just go." He led the way, not down the main corridor but through a smaller path to their left, parallel to where Digmon, MadLeomon, and Shurimon were.

"But, Iori…" Sora tried to stop them, but the pair raced off before she could do anything.

"He's right you know." Kudamon whispered to his partner.

Iori used the small pathways in between the high stacks of boxes to flank Digmon. He finally arrived at the box just behind the insect. Unsheathing his baseball bat, he prepared to attack. "Now." He whispered to Coronamon, and then sprang out, jumping forward with the baseball bat raised over his head, ready to crack it against Digmon's. Coronamon raced close behind, aiming for the back of his knees. Neither one of them unleashed a battle cry. That was the first thing that Gomamon had drilled into their heads. Never reveal your presence to your enemy until it is absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, Digmon heard their footsteps, and whipped around to smack both of them in the gut and knock them across the floor. Coronamon scattered behind another box, out of sight, while Iori crashed into a nearby crate.

"Well, it looks like Shurimon brought some help with him." Digmon scoffed, walking slowly over to the boy.

"No!" Shurimon tried to intervene, but MadLeomon grabbed his arm and slung him against a wall of crates.

"You should have stayed hidden child." Digmon growled, not giving any thought to the fact that Iori was human, "your life expectancy just went way down."

"Iori…?" Coronamon dragged himself out from behind the crate, disoriented.

"You'll be the first to die!" Digmon raised his arm and started his drills.

"Digmon wait!" MadLeomon warned, seeing the lion Digimon and correlating him with the human child. But Digmon didn't listen. He jabbed his drills down towards Iori's soft, fleshy stomach.

"Iori!" Coronamon cried out upon seeing his partner's impending doom. He lunged forward, not believing he would make it in time. Then the digivice clipped to Iori's pocket exploded with a bright light, realizing MadLeomon's fears.

**"Coronamon Digivolve to… Firamon!"**


	15. Sunrise

**Chapter Fifteen: Sunrise**

**Warehouse Three**

**Shadowtech Island, Digital World**

**7:59 A.M: January 30th, 2010**

"Get away from him!" Firamon leaped into the air and pounced on Digmon, smashing him against a crate which buckled under the pressure. The flaming lion stood on all fours, in contrast to his bipedal rookie form. His yellow mane now flowed down his chest and back, and wings sprouted from above his shoulders. Metal bindings surrounded his feet and tail, each illuminated by a small flame which protruded from a flat disk. Firamon's head was masked by a metal helmet, also aflame.

The champion beast then began swatting at Digmon's face, his large paws pounding on the insect's armor.

"Coronamon?" Iori asked in a daze.

"No, you fool!" MadLeomon bellowed at Digmon. "You made him digivolve by attacking his human!"

"It looks like everybody's making foolish decisions today." A voice spoke from behind. MadLeomon shifted his head in time to see Shurimon spring up and smash him in the back with a shuriken. MadLeomon fell forward, stunned, and stumbled to catch himself. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings!" Shurimon then began shooting his shuriken at MadLeomon rapidly, constantly striking at him so that the lion had no choice but to run and cower behind some crates.

"Iori!" Sora had arrived with Kudamon and was now helping the boy to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"Everyone's fine, we need to get out of here now!" Shurimon bellowed, sweeping the two children and Kudamon up in his arms. "Firamon, let's go!" Shurimon called to the champion, but he was distracted with exacting revenge on Digmon. "Firamon, now!" Shurimon screamed as loud as he could, which got the lion's attention.

"Oh," Firamon stopped his assault and looked around, "I seem to have gotten carried away." He spoke in his usual demeanor.

"Firamon, let's move!" Shurimon commanded, and then went for the door. Firamon jumped off Digmon, who was currently unconscious, and ran after him.

"Stop!" MadLeomon scrambled from behind a row of crates and stumbled after them.

"Fira Bomb!" Firamon turned his head and shot a blast of fire at MadLeomon's arm, singeing one of his wounds and causing him to tumble over. Firamon then followed Shurimon out of the warehouse doors, into a gang of 20 or so champion and armor Digimon.

"I forgot about them." Shurimon remarked. "Firamon, how fast can you run?" He asked the lion while placing Iori and Sora on his back.

"Pretty damn fast," Firamon answered while Kudamon crawled onto Shurimon's back.

"Good, run." Shurimon commanded, then shot his arms into two of the enemies' chests, then retracted and bolted in their direction.

"Hold on tight, Firamon commanded to Iori and Sora, who complied quickly. He then dashed after Shurimon, rushing past three stunned soldiers through some fading data.

"Get them you fools!" MadLeomon roared as he stumbled out of the warehouse. The soldiers realized they were just standing around and then ran after the two.

"Yah!" Shurimon thrust his arm forward and stabbed a Mojyamon that was coming for him, then jumped over the creature as he passed, bolting down a corridor between warehouses. He continued to clear the path of obstructing Digimon, who were beginning to appear more and more frequently in the maze of buildings. Fortunately Shurimon knew where he was going, and burst out of the group of buildings rather quickly, with the docks in range. Six large speed boats sat moored to six of the ten docks that extended out into the sea.

"Iori, Sora," Shurimon addressed the two children as he and Firamon slowed down, "In that shack over there," He nodded to a small boathouse before the row of docks began, "there should be six keys on some hooks on the wall. Grab the key to number 2, quickly!" He ordered.

"Right!" Iori and Sora said in unison and ran into the shack.

"Firamon, help me destroy every boat except this first one," Shurimon nodded to the boat closest to the shack.

"You got it, Fira Bomb!" He began launching a series of fireballs from the device on his head at one of the boats. Shurimon dropped Kudamon off at boat number two and then jumped onto the third boat, and began smashing the control system. He finished quickly and then leapt onto the next boat, and began smashing the controls. Firamon started firing on the fifth as Shurimon finished, and then leapt over to the sixth boat and destroyed the controls.

"We've got it!" Sora yelled as she and Iori jumped onto the second boat.

"Firamon let's go! Shurimon ordered and rushed back to the second craft.

"Stop them before they leave!" A group of champion Digimon rushed out from the warehouses and came at Firamon. The lion leapt to the boat as Shurimon snatched the keys from Sora, started the ignition, and gunned the throttle. The boat took off with a roar just before the first Togemon could jump on board, and sailed off into the dawn.

**Shadowtech Island**

**8:17 A.M.**

"Get up." MadLeomon growled at Digmon, who lay motionless against a smashed in crate in warehouse 3. Digmon groaned in response to the stimulation and opened his swollen eyes.

"What happened?" Digmon asked roughly.

"You attacked the human, which forced his partner to digivolve, and with the added digivolution energy the Firamon started to beat the living daylights out of you." MadLeomon barked as he helped his bludgeoned partner to his feet.

"That thing was way too strong for a champion, even with the added evolution energy." Digmon replied as he began to regain his memory. "That thing was more like five champions."

"What does that mean?" MadLeomon inquired.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

**Tokyo, Japan**

**9:03 A.M.**

"Come on you stupid piece of junk!" Kairo smashed his fist into the computer, trying uselessly to make his creation work. He had completely rebuilt it, despite a setback in finding some important parts to the machine. After the sabotage, he and J.P. had moved the ring and all of the equipment out of his bedroom to an abandoned store downtown under the cover of darkness, to prevent a similar incident from happening again. However, during the move something must have become dislodged, because Kairo had checked every problem that had been caused after the break in and fixed it, and after three hours of work could still not get the machine to operate.

"Hey, careful!" J.P. protested as he pulled his head out of a hole in the CPU, where he was working on some wiring. "Don't try and turn this thing on while I've got my head in here. What are you trying to do, electrocute me?"

"I'm not in the mood J.P!" Kairo grumbled. "I don't understand. I fixed everything that those Digidestined broke. Why won't this work?"

"Well, about the only thing that we haven't checked is the power source. Are we getting the same amount of power as back at your place?"

"No, we'd be getting more power actually, in an industrialized section like this." Kairo's eyes lit up. "But it's possible we're getting so much power to the machine now, that it's overloading the power converter I installed to compensate for the lack of power in the last outlet." Kairo left the computer and ran for the door, leaving J.P. wondering.

"Hey, where are you going?" J.P. called after him.

"There's a place not too far from here where I can grab something that will test how much power I'm getting off of this outlet. I'll be right back." Kairo answered as he slipped out the front door.

"Wow, what a temper." Gaomon mumbled from the corner of the room, where he and Monodramon were sitting in boredom.

Kairo returned, a few minutes later, holding a device with a meter on it. He said nothing to J.P. or the Digimon, but slipped into the back room, where the power cord for the machine was connected, and came back out about ten minutes later.

"It was emitting too much power," Kairo determined upon his return, "I adjusted it, so now it won't overload."

"So it'll work now?" J.P. asked hopefully.

"Well, let's see." Kairo walked over to the computer and activated the program. With ease, the device powered up, and within moments a portal to the digital world was now active.

"Yeah!" J.P. cheered in triumph.

"Perfect," Kairo nodded, "Monodramon, let's go. J.P., you should stay here. Without your digivice you're pretty much useless there anyway."

"Hey!" He protested.

"You know it's true, don't whine. Besides, I need someone to manage the machine from this end, just in case."

"Fine, but I don't want to be stuck here for long. Hurry up about it." J.P. snarled.

"Of course," Kairo responded with a flick of his messy hair. "Monodramon move it!"

"Right!" Monodramon jumped off the couch and followed Kairo as he walked into the portal, headed back for the digital world.

"Finally, we can get our revenge on those brats." J.P. thought back to what Kairo told him, about how his schematics for the machine and his computer's hard drive had been stolen at the same time his machine had been smashed up. Then a few hours before now, Kairo had called J.P. and told him that his digivice indicated that four of the signals from the other Digidestined were now gone, revealing that the others had gotten their version of the portal machine up and running. They had rushed down to the store to get theirs working, and finally things were looking up.

"Hey, wasting power over there." Gaomon spoke to his partner, nodding to the portal. J.P. looked to the portal machine and noted it was still on. He slowly got up, heading over to turn it off, then walked through a gray cloud.

"What the-!" J.P. coughed as the smoke began to pump into the room. "Where is this coming from?"

"It's coming from the portal!" Gaomon cried as he realized what was happening. "Something's wrong! Turn it off now!"

"I'm working on it!" J.P. barked as he felt his way to the computer screen. The smoke had filled the entire room now, and was beginning to seep outside.

"Turn it off already!"

"I'm trying!" J.P. snapped at his partner. "Something's wrong! It's not working! I can't get this thing to power down!"

"What?" Gaomon rushed over to the computer. "What's going on here?"

"Ha ha ha," A voice echoed across the room, faint as if it was far away.

"What the hell?" J.P. grunted. "Did you hear that Gaomon?"

"Ha ha ha." The voice laughed louder.

"Who's there?" Gaomon barked.

"Ha Ha Ha!" The voice got louder, and continued to laugh wickedly.

"Show yourself you coward!" J.P. cried.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The voiced boomed with a wicked laugh, from the portal. "I want to thank you boy! Were it not for you and your friend, we might not ever have gotten through!" It cheered as it entered the room through the portal, though still invisible to J.P.

"I'm warning you," J.P. snarled, "You don't know who you're dealing with!"

"J.P. move!" Gaomon lunged and pushed his partner out of the way as an arm swept out and punched the dog in the stomach, throwing him across the room and through the window.

"Gaomon!" J.P. rushed to the door, feeling for its handle, and scrambled outside. His partner lay in the street, amidst a pool of glass, as onlookers congregated around the building. J.P. rushed to his partner and held him up. "Gaomon are you okay?"

"The smoke… it's spreading fast." The dog said weakly. J.P., confused by his partner's comment, looked up. True enough, the smoke from the portal had begun to expand, fast. It was already reaching into the sky, a great fog that was overtaking the entire street. Now inside the cloud, J.P. could see clearly, but outside was impenetrable to the naked eye.

"What's happening?" J.P. whimpered.

"What's happening is," Something walked out of the shop, still shrouded by the thickness of the cloud that was pouring out, "For too long you humans have remained here, in this world, unpunished for the crimes you committed in ours. Well now, we are here to exact the justice which has been promised!" The stranger yelled.

"Who are you?" J.P. yelled back. The figure then lunged out of the fog, grabbing J.P. by the collar and lifting him into the air.

"We, pathetic human, are humanity's end."

**Tokyo, Japan**

**9:27 A.M.**

"Come on!" Yolei yelled out the window. "Get moving! I've got things to do!" She screamed at the sea of cars parked along the freeway. An early morning traffic jam had kept them halfway between home and the hospital for a little less than an hour.

"You know Yolei, screaming at the top of your lungs won't make traffic move any faster." Tai spoke timidly, afraid of the repercussions of poking a lion.

"Come on, why are you still sitting out here?" She screamed again, oblivious to Tai's comments. "You should have been at work 30 minutes ago!"

"Is your friend usually this angry?" Jim whispered in the backseat to his brother.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg. Trust me, you've caught her on a good day." Joe answered just as quietly.

"I've got to say Jim, you're taking this a lot better than I expected you would. I was sure you were going to think we were crazy." Tai turned to the back seat and said.

"Well, I'll admit when Joe was first explaining things to me I figured the doctors had pumped him with too much morphine, but when you two started chiming in I figured there must be something going on."

"Well then I'm sorry for thinking the worst of you." Tai apologized.

"Oh no I still think the lot of you are crazy, I'm just playing along on the off chance that you guys are telling the truth and Joe really did have the life sucked out of him by a creature from another world."

"Oh Henry's most definitely human, he was just implanted with a dark needle which grew inside his body to the point where it corrupted his mind and body and turned him into a heartless killing machine." Joe explained.

"I will rain down a shit storm the likes of which you have never seen if you don't start moving!" Yolei continued to scream.

"Well that's just unnecessary." Tai complained.

"Hey look, traffic's starting to pick up." Yolei said calmly. Tai fell back in exasperation.

"So Joe, you realize if there's no talking seal when we get to this guy's house that I'm going to continue assuming the lot of you are crazy and call the doctor's to come pick you all up right away, right?" Jim asked his brother casually.

"Don't worry Jim, you won't be disappointed." Joe chuckled.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Yolei cheered as cars began to pick up speed. "Now we're getting somewhere!" She pressed on the gas pedal and began to speed up, when a wave of gray passed over the car, causing her to slam on her breaks. "What the hell was that?"

"What was what Yolei?" Tai, who hadn't been paying attention to the road, asked. "Besides you breaking incredibly fast and almost causing the guy behind to rear end us?"

"I could have sworn…" Yolei trailed off. "Nevermind, I'm sorry." She pressed on the gas again and took off, much to the pleasure of the line of cars behind her honking insistently.

"Hey Yolei," Tai said after a few seconds, "What exactly did you see?"

"It looked like something gray passed across the windshield, but I guess it was just my imagination, why?"

"Um, I just feel something weird; something… familiar."

"Like what Tai?" Joe asked from behind.

"Stop the car!" Tai screamed. Yolei jumped in surprise but reacted quickly, breaking as fast as she could while giving those behind her a chance to stop as well.

"Tai what is it?" Yolei cried, but her question was answered from outside, when an explosion sent a wave of cars flying off the road and in all directions.

"Get down!" Tai ordered as a van tumbled towards them.

**Quasi-Gulag**

**10:03 A.M.**

"How long do you think we've been down here?" Jeri sighed from her seat, laying against a wall in the darkness.

"A couple hours, at most," Takato answered. "My old as heck watch doesn't have a light, so I'm not sure."

"Takato, I'm hungry." Guilmon whined. "I'm smelling food that isn't even there. I think I might have tried to eat a rock at one point."

"I know boy, but there's no way out of here, at least none that we can find."

"If we could see, that wouldn't be a problem." Lunamon said. "I'm sure there's a way out of here, but without any light it's impossible to find."

"Is it still January?" Jeri groaned. "It feels like we've been down here a year."

"I could light up the room," Guilmon proposed, "But it would just fizzle out in a few seconds."

"Unless we use some fuel," Lunamon said with glee, "Takato, your baseball bat."

"Huh?" Takato looked in the direction of his weapon. "Oh, like a torch, right?"

"Yes, if Guilmon lights the top on fire, it should give us enough light to find an exit. The flame will burn out rather quickly though, so we should hurry."

"Right," Takato and Guilmon found each other in the darkness, and handed his bat over to the dinosaur. "Wait, why does it have to be my bat?"

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon blasted at the end of the bat, igniting the wood and illuminating the room. The group winced at the sudden burst of light, covering their eyes as they adjusted to the new light.

"It's burning quickly." Lunamon noticed as her eyes adjusted. "We need to be fast about this."

"I don't see any way out Takato." Guilmon whined, peering across the room. Indeed, there were no exits to the jagged room. A large indenture in the wall hinted at a hallway, but it could be plainly seen that the path closed up before leading anywhere.

"Darn it," Jeri sighed, "There's no way out of here, it's just a trap."

"Whoa, look at this." Takato called to the group, looking down at the floor. The other's looked down at the stone below them, where the torchlight was tossing the group's shadows across the floor. Painted on the stone was a creature, a pale gray, standing on its hind legs with rows of sharp teeth and ridges on its head and back, reaching out with bloated fingers towards the center of the room. Crosshairs directed the eye to the center of the creature's palm, where a series of symbols were etched.

"What is it?" Jeri inquired.

"It looks like some sort of Digimon," Lunamon speculated, "Though I do not know of one like this creature."

"What's in his hand, those symbols?" Takato inquired.

"I don't know, but they look kind of familiar." Jeri noted, brushing her fingers against the symbols, which were carved into the stone rather than painted on.

"Down there, look!" A voice yelled from above, attracting the attention of the Digidestined at the bottom of the tunnel.

"Oh no, the fire, it must have given us up!" Jeri yelped.

"Get down there, they've survived the fall!" The voice continued.

"They must have thought we died when we fell!" Takato cried. That was the last word anyone could say. A second later three large fly-like Digimon swooped down from above and attacked.

**10:21 A.M.**

They stood on the roof, their hands bound behind their backs. The four of them stood in a row, while a group of Butterflymon, humanoid flies with a tough yellow exoskeleton, stood guard. They had been subdued by these creatures, and brought to the execution chamber, where the Prairiemon, commander of the island, ordered them to be brought up to the roof, to await the arrival of Halsemon, who was scheduled to return to the island within the hour.

"I can see her sir," one of the Butterflymon spoke to Prairiemon, who was standing at the edge of the citadel roof with his paws crossed behind his back, "General Halsemon is about to arrive."

"Perfect," The rabbit laughed, "She will be most pleased upon her arrival."

"This doesn't look good, Jeri." Lunamon said nervously. "I cannot determine an effective way out of this scenario."

"Why would you say that?" Jeri whimpered, looking more nervous than before. "I thought you had a way out of this."

"Me, what could I possibly do to get us out of this, especially with Halsemon about to get here?"

"I don't know I thought you'd-!"

"Unbelievable," Jeri was cut off, "Tell me I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing." Halsemon landed in front of them, while Prairiemon turned around to greet her.

"General, we found them snooping around the facility." Prairiemon explained to Halsemon. "They attacked one of the Bullmon and tried to escape, but fell down the auxiliary shaft. We thought they were dead but then they were stupid enough to start up a torch, trying to find a way out probably, so we knew they were down there."

"When did all this happen?" Halsemon grumbled.

"We first found them a couple of hours ago, but we didn't catch them until about 15 minutes ago." Prairiemon explained.

"So you left them down at the bottom of the auxiliary shaft for hours, thinking they were dead, and not bothering to go and check for bodies?" Halsemon barked at the rabbit.

"Uh, but madam, I-" Prairiemon tried to rebut.

"Shut up before I blow you to pieces Prairiemon." Halsemon ordered. "In fact I might just do it anyway you incompetent fool! You're lucky these four weren't able to do any serious damage down there."

"Who says we didn't?" Takato growled.

"Takato, what are you doing?" Jeri and Lunamon hissed congruently.

"You, boy, you think you are very clever don't you?" Halsemon asked irritably. "Well I've got news for you; your situation is incredibly biased in my favor. I've got all the power, and you are once again completely dependent on my mercy. Only this time, I have none to give you. I will not wait for Lord Henry to arrive or bring you to him this time. I will kill you right here, right now, and this time I doubt your friends will come randomly storming in to save you."

"Why do we need anyone to come in and save us?" A muffled voice barked. Halsemon turned his head to Guilmon, whose snout and legs were bound by rope. Guilmon's mouth was now ablaze, facing the bindings on his feet. "Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon fired his attack, which filtered out of the sides of his mouth, burning the ropes gagging him, allowing him to fire at the bindings on his feet and free himself.

"Rope? You bound a fire Digimon with common rope?" Halsemon roared at Prairiemon, who cowered at his master's anger.

"Pyro Sphere!" Guilmon fired a blast behind his three comrades, which blazed past the ropes around their arms, burning them off.

"Damn it, get them now!" Halsemon ordered the stunned Butterflymon, who immediately jumped into action. One assaulted Guilmon, who defended with a barrage of Pyro Spheres. The others tried to subdue the children, but with her movement unrestricted, Lunamon jumped into action, knocking them both away with a spinning attack.

"Jeri let's move!" Takato grabbed the girl's hand and dragged her away from the center of the fight.

"Why are all of my men incompetent?" Halsemon groaned. "They are two rookie Digimon, why is this so hard for all of you?"

"Hey, bug juice!" Guilmon yelled at his opponent. "What's the matter: afraid of me? I thought armor Digimon were tougher than that!" The Butterflymon, now enraged, shot towards Guilmon with fist pulled back.

"He's baiting you, moron!" Halsemon yelled. Meanwhile, Lunamon continued to dodge the other two, luring them away from Takato and Jeri.

"You should listen more often!" Guilmon yelled as Butterflymon closed in. He then jumped, flying over Butterflymon's head, which the grabbed with his jaw, landing on the insect's back. The flying Digimon pulled up from the pain and began spiraling into the air, but Guilmon used his grip on the Digimon's head to direct their movement.

"There's no way!" Halsemon groaned, her eyes drawing towards the large obelisk directly in the path of Guilmon and Butterflymon: the dark spire. The structure was located in the central courtyard, but rose above the walkway on the roof of the main building surrounding the open area. "Enough, I'll handle this myself!" Halsemon lunged into the air and soared towards Butterflymon and his passenger.

"Looks like it's time for you to go!" Guilmon told his pilot as the approached the black tower, noting that Halsemon was racing towards them. He then unlatched from Butterflymon's head and pushed off his neck, throwing the monster downward while Guilmon continued to sail towards the tower. He crashed into the side, bracing himself with his hind legs, causing a noticeable crack in the tower. Halsemon was only a couple of seconds behind him.

"He's going to crash into the tower!" Jeri cheered as she watched Halsemon.

"Well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Takato said with triumph.

"You fools are way too confident in yourselves!" Halsemon cried, then with incredible agility grabbed Guilmon by the tail and swooped away from the tower without even grazing it.

"No!" Lunamon caught the move out of the corner of her eye, losing her concentration enough to be finally hit by one of the Butterflymon, sending her spiraling across the walkway.

"You fool!" Halsemon flew back to the roof and threw Guilmon against the edging. She then landed next to the dinosaur and drove her paw into his chest. "Thought I'd fall for the same tricks as my brother, eh? You will have to do better than that."

"Yah!" Takato took the brick that he had been holding in his pocket and tossed it at Halsemon's wing joint.

"Again, with the same old tricks?" Halsemon roared as she knocked the brick away with her wing without even looking at it. "Was that the same brick?" Halsemon quickly turned her head. "Are you serious?"

**10:22 A.M**

Shurimon pulled the boat into the small cove while Sora, Iori, Coronamon, and Kudamon surveyed their surroundings. They had pulled into a little known cove on the side of the prison where there were virtually no guards.

"Okay, we're good." Sora whispered as she returned from her survey of the shore, unzipping her jacket as the morning began to give way to noon. "Most of our path is clear, but we have a couple of guards standing between us and where you said the entrance is."

"Good," Shurimon said as he finished tying the boat to a wooden stake planted in the ground. "The back entrance isn't very well guarded, so we should easily be able to slip in and locate your friends. Can we see their location on the digivice?"

"Yeah, they're a ways away." Iori responded, "Between us and the entrance."

"Okay, we should get moving." Shurimon stood up and started towards the side entrance to the facility. "Every moment counts." With that, the five made their way down the beach along the wall of the prison, towards the entrance. Halfway there, at a bend in the wall, they encountered their first guard: a Baromon with his back turned to the group. Shurimon held the others back, and then shot a shuriken at the monster's back. The shaman Digimon fell to the ground with a grunt, exploding in a shower of data.

"I heard a couple more guards talking a ways ahead," Sora explained, "I think they're the last ones, near the gate."

"Good, this won't take very long." Shurimon nodded. "Let's go."

"Wait," Iori whispered, "Do you hear that?" Everyone quieted, and listened for Iori's noise. They soon heard faint shouts coming from above.

"It sounds like there's a fight going on up there." Kudamon observed from Sora's shoulder, looking above them towards the roof. "Sora, look out!" Kudamon cried into her partner's ear. Sora jumped in surprise and looked up, just in time to see a small object falling towards her. She tried to jump away, but the object struck her helmet, knocking her onto her back.

"Ow!" Sora screeched. "Who throws a brick off a roof? What the hell?"

"Sora, be quiet!" Shurimon hushed her as Sora removed her helmet and massaged the crown of her head, thankful for the odd headgear.

"This brick looks familiar." Kudamon observed the object that had crashed into his partner's head.

"Huh?" Sora snatched the object from Kudamon and looked it over. "No way; he actually saved this." She looked up to the roof. "Takato's up there."

"And most likely in trouble, let's go." Shurimon wrapped his arms around the children and their partners, then sprung upwards towards the roof.

**10:25 A.M.**

"How can you honestly call yourselves fighters?" Halsemon shook her head disappointedly. "You carried around a piece of stone and mortar for weeks, waiting to use it against me, and then you waste it on a pathetic shot like that? You all have to be the most incompetent fools I have ever met!" With that she drove her talons farther into Guilmon's chest, causing him to cry out in immense pain.

"Incompetent?" A voice in the sky asked. Halsemon looked up to see five figures drop onto the walkway. "Surely you do not believe they've given their all just yet, my sister." Shurimon cracked his neck as he walked towards the bird Digimon.

"Stop!" The pair of Butterflymon jumped to attack the intruders, but Shurimon quickly assaulted them with his shuriken, destroying them.

"Your power over our pathetic forces never ceases to amaze me brother." Halsemon chuckled as she released Guilmon from her grip, opting instead to start walking in the direction of Shurimon. "You are truly powerful, yet you now associate yourself with a bunch of weaklings you will never know the strength that you and I possess."

"That foolish pride of yours always has and always will be your greatest weakness, Halsemon." Shurimon shook his head. "It pains me to see you being controlled like a lifeless puppet."

"Controlled?" Halsemon scoffed. "How dare you! I serve Master Henry willingly, and in return he's unlocked a great potential in me, just as he did you before your betrayal."

"What are they talking about?" Sora whispered to Iori and their Digimon.

"I've no idea." Iori replied.

"You idiots!" Halsemon growled. "Can you not take context clues? Long ago when Shurimon and I first began to serve Lord Henry he used his amazing abilities to unlock a hidden potential within the two of us that not only allowed us to evolve into armor Digimon but to surpass the normal powers of the armored level and become his generals. We are no ordinary armor Digimon. We have reached if not surpassed the powers of the ultimate level! At least I have." Halsemon sneered at her brother. "You on the other hand, have lost that incredible gift that Lord Henry has given you."

"That is where you are wrong Halsemon." Shurimon spoke calmly. "I still have the same strength as before, perhaps even more so now that I'm not being controlled by the black gear. That power was within us all along, and Henry has just exploited it."

"You lie!" Halsemon barked. "Prove it!"

"I intend to." Shurimon answered, and raised his Shuriken to attack.

"Tempest Wing!" Halsemon spun around and created a tornado with her body.

"Double Stars!" Shurimon shot his blades forward.

"Amazing," Takato sighed as he came to Guilmon's side and helped the dinosaur to his feet, "I knew Shurimon was a lot stronger than most other armor Digimon, but I didn't know he had special powers."

"I guess it makes sense, him being one of Henry's generals and all." Jeri commented as she and Lunamon joined him.

Halsemon blew the blades away, throwing Shurimon's arms into the winds, and rushed towards his chest, but Shurimon swung his arms down like a hammer in front of Halsemon, who crashed his metal head into the pair of shuriken and flipped over.

"You'll pay for that!" Halsemon pulled herself back up and reared her head back. "Mach Impulse!" throwing her head forward, she released a pressurized wind from the wings on her helmet, colliding with Shurimon and throwing him across the walkway.

"You won't win this one Halsemon! I can't let you!" Shurimon jumped to his feet and rushed Halsemon, slashing with his arms as the bird Digimon sidestepped and dodged every blow.

"Face it Shurimon, you really have lost your power!" Halsemon scoffed, and then feinted left before ducking down and head butting him in the gut. Shurimon stumbled back, and Halsemon then lunged forward and snatched Shurimon by the collar with his beak, throwing the ninja off of the walkway and into the courtyard. She then propped herself up on the railing and laughed at her brother. "I can't believe it. You've fallen so easily! I beat you in seconds!"

"I believe you're right, Halsemon." Shurimon grunted as he stumbled to his feet. "You are stronger than me. The black gears seem to provide some extra power after all. So I guess I'll just have to balance the odds of this fight more in my favor!"

"What do you mean?" Halsemon growled warily.

"Double Stars!" Shurimon turned around and shot both of his shuriken at the dark spire, impaling them in the base. He then slashed them across the façade in a cross and fired his blades into the cross section.

"No, you fool! What are you doing!" Halsemon roared in fear. "Men, stop him!" She called to a small group of guards that had noticed the commotion in the courtyard.

"Takato! Iori!" Shurimon yelled at the boys on the walkway, who darted his head in Shurimon's direction. "The dark beacon is broken into two parts! One disables Digivolution, and a stronger signal controls the black gears! I've just disrupted the former!"

"What's he talking about?" Takato inquired.

"Alright! Coronamon let's go!" Iori cheered to his partner.

"We shall kick his feathered ass!" Coronamon bolted towards Halsemon as Iori activated his digivice.

**"Coronamon digivolve to… Firamon!"** The quadruped leaped from the burst of light and dashed at Halsemon, who caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and slashed her head to form a pressurized wind blast. Firamon leaped over the attack and pounced on Halsemon, knocking her down the walkway.

"He's strong for a champion." Halsemon groaned as she picked herself up. "But he's not strong enough, Tempest Wing!" Halsemon formed a tornado with her spinning body and rocketed towards Firamon.

"Takato!" Jeri yelped at the boy, who was distracted by the brawl between Firamon and Shurimon. He turned his head towards Jeri. She was running away from Prairiemon who had suddenly decided to join in on the battle.

"Guilmon can you fight?" Takato asked quickly.

"With a little help, no problem;" Guilmon nodded.

"Right, take it." Takato brushed his hand against his digivice.

**"Guilmon digivolve to… Growlmon!"** The oversized dinosaur exploded onto the walkway and with a quick head butt knocked Prairiemon into the railing.

"Jeri, now is not the time to cower!" Lunamon hopped to her partner's side. "Kudamon, let us go down there and help Shurimon deal with those guards!"

"Right!" Kudamon nodded and headed over to the railing.

"Agh!" Firamon disrupted their path as he was flung across the walkway and rolled into Growlmon's back. Growlmon tumbled forward and onto Prairiemon, who was crushed under their combined weight.

"Enough with your useless attacks!" Halsemon stepped forward slowly towards the team. "It's time to end this once and for all!"

"Tear Shot!" Lunamon jumped at Halsemon and fired her signature attack, which brushed against Halsemon's forehead like it was nothing.

"Stupid rabbit!" Halsemon smashed the rookie in the gut, who stumbled in pain from the blow. Halsemon then grabbed the rabbit by the back of her neck and threw her over the railing.

"Lunamon!"Jeri bent over the railing and tried to grab her partner, but Lunamon was too far and continued spiraling helplessl towards the ground head first.

"Lunamon I'm coming!" Shurimon jumped to catch the rabbit, but was tackled by Boarmon, who slammed him into the wall and pinned him against the brick.

"Lunamon no!" Jeri cried. Then a burst of light streamed out of her digivice.

"What?" Halsemon cried. "No! What is happening?"

**"Lunamon digivolve to… Lekismon!"** Lunamon grew a long pair of legs and arms, and her chest became covered in a purple vest with a chained moon pendant hanging from her neck. She now sported black boxing gloves a metal mask covering all but her eyes and forehead, and a ribbon that flowed from the back of her head.

"No! They're only supposed to do that when the human is in danger!" Halsemon roared in anger. Lekismon then pushed off the wall parallel to her, changing her trajectory to a path parallel to the ground. She crashed into the dark spire feet first, then jumped off of that and back up onto the walkway, leaving a sizeable crack in the tower.

"Thanks Halsemon," Lekismon punched her fists together. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Lunamon you're okay!" Jeri cheered.

"It's Lekismon my friend." Lekismon smiled at the girl behind her. "Now stand back. I've got a score to settle."

"So, I was right. This is your first time digivolving." Halsemon chuckled. "And now you think with that added initial evolution energy you'll be strong enough to defeat me. Well I have news for you-"

"Bored now, finding something else to do!" Lekismon jumped away and on top of the railing, then leaped across the courtyard and slammed into the dark spire, then began a barrage of punches at the obelisk.

"No! Stop that!" Halsemon flew into the air and dove towards the rabbit. Lekismon sensed her opponent coming at her however and pushed off of the tower, leaping over Halsemon.

"Moon Night Kick!" Lekismon flipped over and dove down quickly, kicking Halsemon intensely in the back. The bird bowed down against the blow and began spiraling down towards the ground, and Lekismon then pushed off of her and threw a strong punch into the tower, causing it to crack badly.

"Agh!" Halsemon landed hard on the ground, but quickly recovered and flew off the ground again. "Tempest Wing!"

Lekismon lunged off of the tower once again into the air. Halsemon was ready for another attack, but this time Lekismon shot past Halsemon and smashed into the wall opposite the tower. Halsemon flew past her, and Lekismon then jumped back over to the tower, smashing into it. The tower cracked under the weight.

"Damn it!" Halsemon curved around towards Lekismon, who then jumped off the tower towards the wall, but Halsemon controlled her trajectory and followed Lekismon. Before her attack could go through however, Shurimon appeared out of nowhere and struck her in midair. Both spiraled towards the ground and crashed into the dirt.

"But how?" Halsemon grunted as Shurimon kept him pinned down. He then glanced over to a sound to his right and saw Firamon and Boarmon fighting each other. "Impressive teamwork but you won't be enough to keep me down!" Halsemon then began to push Shurimon off of her. Shurimon tried his best to pin the bird down, but Halsemon's strength proved too great.

"Shurimon move!" A voice above ordered. Shurimon obeyed and jumped away, surprising Halsemon. She looked up to where Lekismon had just pounded into the black tower once again. She began to take off, but a shadow overcame the ground around her.

"Huh?" Halsemon looked up just in time to see Growlmon fly down from above, landing on the armored bird and pinning her under his weight. "Agh!" She cried in agony as the multi-ton dinosaur trapped her beneath his incredible weight.

"Shurimon help!" Firamon pleaded. Shurimon spotted Firamon now fighting off a multitude of armor Digimon. Shurimon dashed past Growlmon, who had complete control over Halsemon, and knocked away a pair of Yasyamon who were assaulting Firamon, leaving him to handle the Boarmon and a Pipismon.

"No, stop that Lekismon!" Halsemon groaned as she helplessly watched the Digimon in question leap from wall to tower back and forth, inflicting more damage each time she pounded into the dark spire.

"Moon Light Kick!" With one last powerful kick, Lekismon bounded off of the wall and smashed into the dark spire. The base finally crumbled from the pressure and fell towards the ground, while Lekismon jumped back off of the tower and landed safely on the ground, and watched as the tower shattered into a mass of dark stone and dust.


	16. The Storm Approaches

**Chapter Sixteen: The Storm Approaches**

**Highway 304**

**Tokyo, Japan**

**9:51 A.M: January 30****th****, 2010**

Tai's eyes fluttered open as smoke began to burn his nose and throat. He immediately noticed he was hanging upside down with his seatbelt tightly pulled around his chest to keep him from falling. His vision blurred, he couldn't make out the details of his surroundings, only the smell of smoke and burning metal and distant screams.

"Ugh," Tai gagged as the belt slipped down a bit and began to pull at his neck. He looked down, spotting the ceiling of the sedan as his vision began to improve. Feeling down, he braced himself against the ceiling with his hand and unbuckled his seatbelt, then slid down the car seat and landed softly on his back. He pulled himself up so that he was leaning against the door and let out a long sigh.

"Yolei?" He groaned as he saw the girl hanging from the driver's seat. "Yolei, wake up." He crawled over to the girl and tapped her in the shoulder. "Come on, Yolei." He tapped her in the cheek, which began to irritate her.

"Ugh…" Yolei began to wake up. Her eyes slowly cracked open and she blinked her eyesight back into condition. "Tai?" She moaned at the sight of the boy. "What happened?"

"That van must have flipped us over." Tai groaned a reply. "We're on top of another car." He looked to the severely cracked windshield, which gave a clouded view of the upright car on the other side, vacant of people.

"Are Joe and Jim alright?" Yolei asked as Tai helped her out of the seat belt and onto the ceiling.

"I don't know, I just woke up." Tai squeezed through the two front seats to the back, where Joe and Jim were strapped to the back seat. "Joe's okay." Tai said to Yolei as he examined the teen, who was hanging comfortably from the back seat.

"Jim is-oh dear," Tai gasped at Jim, who's leg was pinned between Tai's seat and the car side, which was smashed in from the outside.

"Damn." Tai pulled out of the backseat and crawled to his door.

"What's wrong?" Yolei asked, crawling into the back seat to check on Joe and Jim. "Oh dear."

"Ugh!" Tai grunted pointlessly as he tried to push his door open. "We're pinned on my side. What about yours?" Yolei crawled out of the back seat as well, and tried her door. She pushed it open a small amount before it was stopped by another car, only a few inches away.

"This other car is too close. I can't get this door open." Yolei answered regrettably.

"Agh!" A scream erupted from the back. "Oh no!" Yolei jumped into the back, where Jim had woken up from the noises and the pain in his leg. "Jim, calm down, everything's going to be alright!" She tried to calm the man down, who continued to struggle violently.

"We need to get an ambulance over here to pry Jim out." Tai checked both the doors again to see if he could squeeze through, but it was ineffective.

"Tai, you need to get out of here and flag one down!" Yolei urged as she failed to keep Jim calm.

"I know but there's no way-!" Tai stopped, spotting the upright car opposite theirs. "If they found a way out..." Tai pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around a balled fist.

"Tai, what is it?" Yolei called.

"I've got an idea." Tai responded. He found the most degraded part of the windshield, then threw a hard punch with his jacket wrapped arm. The window shattered again, crumbling to give way to the other windshield which was just as badly damaged. He punched again, and the other window shattered, leaving a small opening in the corner. "I should be able to get into the other car. Whoever was in there was able to get out, so we should be able too." Tai then began punching away at both windshields until there was an opening large enough for Tai to pass through without glass tearing into his sides.

"Be quick about it!" Yolei ordered as Tai crawled into the other sedan. Once inside, Tai tried the front door, which popped open with ease. Tai slithered out of the car and got his first look at the world outside.

"Damn…" Tai's vision panned across the highway, where cars, trucks, and SUVs were piled across the road. People of all ages were dragging themselves and others out of the vehicles and running north, away from the site of the explosion, where Tai looked next. The sea of cars stopped abruptly in front of Yolei's overturned sedan, only empty road lay beyond. That, and a demon. "Uh, Yolei, you should come out here." He called into the car.

"Have you found an ambulance yet?" Yolei questioned as she crawled towards Tai. "I've managed to calm Jim down but he's still in a lot of pain." She pulled herself out of the opposite car and next to Tai. "What are you looking at?"

Tai pointed forward to the 30 foot monster smashing buildings with a blood red scythe. The creature was a red skeleton with black wings and a black core within its ribcage. A black mask with jagged extensions covered its face.

"Oh, that's a SkullSatamon." Yolei said nervously.

"So it is a Digimon then?" Tai asked with deep breaths.

"Yeah, I had a few of them in my employ back in the Spiral Mountain days." She replied.

"Good, just making sure hell didn't open up and start attacking."

"It might as well have, Tai this is bad. What is it doing here?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it's going to let us pass."

"I don't see any ambulances over here, probably because of the big guy. We need to get back to the hospital to help Jim Tai, we can worry about what this thing is doing here later." At that, another explosion boomed a few miles to the west.

"It looks like he brought friends." Tai growled. "Listen, we can't just let SkullSatamon go about destroying the city," He eyed the red demon, who was using his scythe to chop down a skyscraper like tree. "We need to get Joe's digivice and Gomamon to him. He's the only one of us who can fight a Digimon of that size right now."

"What about Jim? He could be bleeding to death. We need to get his leg unpinned."

"First we do that, then you take Jim to the hospital while Joe and I retrieve his digivice."

"Sounds like a plan. Go find something we can use as a crowbar. We need to pry that space trapping Jim's leg open. I'll go check on him."

"Ok, I'll be right back." Tai started to run into the rest of the chaos on the highway.

"Be careful!" She called.

"Always am," Tai yelled back.

"Liar."

**Quasi-Gulag, Courtyard**

**Reboot Island, Digital World**

**11:02 A.M: January 30****th****, 2010**

"You see, the part of the beacon that stops digivolution covers less area and is easily disrupted by damage to the antenna," Hawkmon explained to Takato and Iori as he glanced at the stub of the once mighty tower, "As opposed to the one controlling the black gears, which has a much wider range and takes a lot more damage to disrupt." He was explaining how he had disabled the digivolution disruption of the dark beacon, allowing Guilmon, Coronamon, and Lekismon to digivolve and defeat Halsemon. Of course, Halsemon was no longer herself. Instead, she rested weakly at the rookie level Biyomon, a large pink bird with an oversized head, as Lekismon worked to pry out the black gear that was lodged in her back. Now ineffective on the island, the black gears still posed a threat if Henry were to return and re-engage the signal, turning Biyomon and the rest of the free inhabitants of the island evil once again.

"Ayah!" Biyomon squawked as Lekismon finally pulled the gear free, then crushed the device in her hands.

"Welcome to the world of free will Ms. Biyomon, I'm sure you will find it much more to your liking than what you were before." Lekismon said with a smile before going off to work on another of the island Digimon, which were being helped by Guilmon, Coronamon, and Kudamon.

"Well sister, how do you feel?" Hawkmon asked politely as he and the two boy digidestined walked to her.

"Like a large dinosaur just leaped upon my back and crushed every bone in my body." Biyomon groaned. "But otherwise, better. How are you brother? I hope I didn't wound you too badly."

"No, just cuts and bruises mostly." Hawkmon assured her. "They will heal."

"I hope you can forgive me for what I've done. I feel just terrible about everything that has happened and I hope-"

"Nonsense," Iori cut her off, "Biyomon you were being controlled by a dark power and had no control over your actions. You're no more responsible for what's happened than Guilmon is for his stomach."

"That reminds me, when is lunch?" Guilmon called from his spot by the Boarmon, who was groaning as Guilmon tugged tirelessly to pull the black gear out of the creature's belly.

"Thank you boy, your words are kind." Biyomon pulled herself up. "But still I wish to correct the damage I've caused. I'd like to help in any way I can."

"Then maybe you can help us take on File Island," Takato proposed, "We need to take that place back first if we want to deal any damage to Henry's army, and you're in a prime position to help us do it."

"Well by taking this place you've helped strike a major blow," Biyomon replied, "But yes, most of his forces are spread out across the continents, and with the fall of Reboot, he will most likely make File Island his permanent base of operations. We must stop him before that happens."

"Good, then as soon as everyone's okay, the six of us can-"

"I do not think that is wise," Biyomon stopped Takato from finishing, "It would be dangerous to try and assault that island with a large force. The smaller and more surgical the strike, the more effective it will be."

"What do you propose?" Hawkmon inquired.

"I suggest you and two of the humans stay here," Biyomon explained, "To keep this island secure. We can use it as a base while at the same time taking out any allies of Henry who try to use it as a safe haven."

"We made a ruckus over on Shadowtech, I imagine it won't be long until they send someone over here to report." Hawkmon added.

"All the more reason for you to stay here and stop them from discovering what has happened here and assault the island in full force. In the meantime, I, the other two children, and their partners can go to File Island and dismantle the dark spires. It will be the quickest way to relinquish Henry's control. From there, we will silently take out the black gears in a few of Henry's soldiers to turn them over to our side, and use them to turn more soldiers, giving us a greater advantage before Henry realizes what's happened. By the time he discovers that the towers have been destroyed, enough enemy soldiers should be turned to our side to make an effective assault on the island possible."

"I see only one flaw in your plan," Hawkmon rebutted, "It will be difficult for two rookies to do a lot of damage to the dark spires, you will need another armor digimon to accompany you."

"It would be unwise for you to come brother, any servant of Henry who sees you will instantly discover that something is amiss and sound the alarm."

"This cannot be up for negotiation Biyomon. You need someone else with the power to destroy the spires. I will keep quiet for as long as possible, until it becomes necessary to reveal my presence, but I must come with you."

"Very well," Biyomon conceded.

"Sora and I should be the ones to go," Takato proposed, "Guilmon's got the most experience as a champion and Kudamon will probably digivolve while we're there, so he'll have that extra digivolution energy to help him out."

"That sounds good." Iori nodded in agreement. "Firamon and Lekismon can take care of any threat that comes our way. It's probably for the best."

"Good, then we should confer with your friends and discuss strategy." Biyomon nodded to the two girls, who were busy pulling a black gear out of a Digimon.

**10:04, Tokyo Japan**

Tai maneuvered Jim from the front as he and Yolei gently pulled Jim out of the car. They had finally managed to find a twisted piece of metal that could act as a crowbar, and were able to use it to pry the back of the car seat off of the rest of it and free Jim's leg. After, they could see the bleeding and broken bone more clearly.

"Agh!" Jim cried in pain as his leg brushed against the door of the upright sedan.

"Careful!" Joe called from outside. He had awoken to Jim's screams shortly after Tai had made it outside and spotted the SkullSatamon, who was now wandering off, attacking any building it could find, regardless of size or human capacity. Besides the death toll the monster was inevitably creating, Tai's concern was that the creature was moving closer and closer to Odaiba.

"He's out! Yolei announced as she carefully stepped out of the car, supporting Jim's legs. "Get him on the ground so Joe can prepare the splint." Joe had left the car while Tai and Yolei were removing the seat to find materials to make a splint for Jim's leg, which he began to do as soon as the trio was free of the car. Now free of task, Tai stumbled away and leaned against the car, taking a deep breath as he looked around. Most of the people were gone, across the bridge as the SkullSatamon continued its path of destruction down south. Tai wanted to put a stop to it, but without the aid of his partner, Tai was about as useful as Yolei's overturned sedan.

A bell rung in Tai's pocket. He dug his cell phone out to see Izzy calling. "Perfect," he said sincerely and flipped open the phone. "Izzy hey."

"What the hell is happening Tai?" Izzy screamed from the other side. "I've been trying to call you for the past ten minutes! The entire city is going to hell! Digimon appeared out of nowhere and started destroying everything!"

"I know, we were caught in the first wave." Tai groaned from exhaustion.

"Is everyone okay?" Izzy asked, filled with concern.

"Jim's leg is busted pretty bad, we've gotta get him to the hospital. In the meantime, Joe's the only one who can handle these guys. I need you to get our families somewhere safe, then head down to Joe's house with Gomamon. I'll text you the address."

"Yeah, good idea. I can be ready in ten minutes. Wait, who's Jim?"

"Izzy, don't let Kari come with you. She'll want to, but I don't want her getting hurt out here." Tai ordered.

"No problem Tai, I'll make sure she sits tight with our parents."

"Thanks, talk to you in a bit." Tai finished, and closed the phone.

"You know, she's been through dangerous things like this before," Yolei commented, "I don't know your sister very well but I doubt she'll like being excluded."

"I know it's just, with all this happening here, in the real world, it makes it-"

"A little too real?" Yolei finished his thought. "Like everything in the digital world just might have been a dream, a fantasy world where we were never in any true danger, but here in our home city it defines everything just a little too much?"

"Yeah, exactly." Tai sighed.

"Jim's good to go," Joe interrupted as he helped his brother to his good foot, "Yolei, you'll take good care of him right?"

"Don't worry," Yolei took Jim from Joe and slung his arm over her shoulder, "He'll be fine. Ready Jim?" She asked with a sincere smile.

"Ready as a guy with one leg will ever be." He grunted through the pain, then the two started off back towards the hospital.

"Okay Joe, what's the fastest way to your house? We need your digivice." Tai addressed the blue haired boy.

"Follow me." He instructed, then started after Yolei and Jim.

"I need you to text the directions to Izzy, he's going to meet us there with Gomamon." Tai tossed his phone to his companion, who flipped the device open and started typing.

"Good plan, my digivice is broken, which is why you weren't able to find me. Izzy should be able to get it up and running in no time."

"That's the plan." Tai replied.

**10:06, Odaiba Apartments**

"This way." Susumu Kamiya led the way down the stairs. His wife, daughter, and the Izumi family all followed him, down to the bottom level of the building. "There's a basement for maintenance. I have a key. We can get in and hide." They arrived at the base, and Susumu rushed to a door at the far end and unlocked it. The group piled inside, and Susumu closed and locked the door behind them. "We should be safe in here until the chaos outside settles."

"I can't believe it," Yuuko Kamiya sighed, "Giant monsters are attacking Tokyo. Who could've seen that coming?"

"Oh my god," Mrs. Izumi cried as she looked around the basement. "Where's Koushiro?"

"He must've fallen behind, do not worry. I'll go find him." Susumu went to the door and began to unlock it."

"Dad, wait," Kari stopped him, then turned to Izzy's parents. "Izzy's not coming. He had to go do something."

"Out in the middle of all this?" She cried in worry. "Preposterous, we have to go find him!"

"Believe me, what he's doing is important. If anyone's safe out there right now, it's your son." Kari reassured the woman, who burst into tears.

"Kari, what's going on?" Yuuko questioned her daughter. "What do you know?"

"Well for starters, those giant monsters attacking Tokyo, are called Digimon."

**10:08 A.M, Tokyo Japan**

Across the bridge, Tai and Joe lost sight of Yolei and Jim. St Luke's lay to the northwest, along Highway 304, while Joe's house was eastward bound. The road they were on now, which was perpendicular to the highway where the car first overturned, was mostly deserted at this point. People had fled north and east across the bridges to the small island they were now on to escape the destruction caused by SkullSatamon. The beast had fortunately shied away from Odaiba, opting to begin smashing his way west, parallel to their current path.

"How far are we going Joe?" Tai asked as they jogged.

"It's far enough we should be driving there." Joe answered. "I hate to suggest it but, if no one is here it might be best to find ourselves some more transportation."

"Do you know how to hotwire a car?" Tai asked skeptically. Joe didn't answer. "Then we should run faster."

"Wait, did you hear that?" Joe stopped, trying to listen carefully. Tai reluctantly stopped as well and tried to listen for what Joe heard. He soon discovered the noise: a faint marching sound that was progressively getting louder.

"What is that?" Tai asked nervously.

"Whatever it is," Joe replied, "It doesn't sound-" Suddenly the marching grew much louder as a squadron of medieval knights rounded the bend in the road in front of them, "-good. Knightmon."

"Where do all these Digimon keep coming from?"

"Less questions more running eh?" Joe proposed and turned towards an alley. "This way." He and Tai bolted towards the alley and slipped inside, then across the narrow passage and onto a parallel street- "Oh you've got to be kidding me." -right into another squadron of Knightmon.

"Grab the humans." The leader said nonchalantly.

"Run more!" Tai ordered as the Knightmon began to converge upon their position. They swerved away and ran for another alley to the north.

"Don't move." A Knightmon appeared to their left and snatched at Joe, who narrowly avoided capture.

"Joe look out!" Tai lunged and shoved Joe out of the way as a Knightmon grabbed him from behind. The Knightmon instead snatched Tai's collar and pinned him in a sleeper hold.

"Tai!" Joe yelped helplessly as the Knightmon holding Tai began to back away while two more took its place.

"Get out of here now!" Tai grunted as he struggled to break free. Joe wanted to argue, but knew trying to save Tai would be futile. He leaped into the alley a few feet away and dashed to the next street. The Knightmon tried to follow, but the rotund ultimate Digimon's shoulders would not fit through the narrow passage.

**10:10 A.M, Tokyo Japan**

Izzy jogged down the deserted road, holding Gomamon in his arms. He gazed across the burning landscape, trying his best not to let the destruction faze him. Toppled buildings and crushed stone littered the landscape. The once sky high Odaiba landscape now crumbled to the ground.

"You okay Izzy?" Gomamon asked, sensing the boy's bother.

"Just trying not to let the destruction faze me Gomamon. Seeing the destruction in your world was awful, yes, but now that there are Digimon here, it makes it a little-"

"-too real?" Gomamon asked.

"Sorry." Izzy said in shame. "I hate to admit it, but in the back of my head, sometimes it felt like everything in the digital world was just one amazingly long dream."

"I understand. My world is sort of fantastical compared to yours. Huh?" A noise caught Gomamon's attention.

"What is it?" Izzy inquired.

"Hide." He ordered.

"What, why?"

"Do it now!" Gomamon hissed. Izzy argued no further and jumped into a shelled out building next to the street, hiding behind a sofa in the building's lobby with clear view of the windows. He watched for a few minutes before something came into view: a squadron of medieval knights marching down the street. Behind them was a small group of humans in shackles, and behind them another squadron of knights. Two more groups of both followed behind them, all heading towards Odaiba.

"What are they?" Izzy asked quietly, after the last group disappeared from sight.

"Knightmon. They must be rounding up humans, but I can't imagine why."

"That's just something we'll have to deal with after we get you and Joe back together. We can barely do anything without digivolution power." With that, they made their way up Highway 304. Behind them, the sounds of SkullSatamon could still be heard as he continued his swath of relentless destruction. They continued until they were out of the island chains of Odaiba onto the mainland, where Izzy took a rest at an abandoned gas station. Out of Odaiba, the chaos was greater, with people still running through the streets, trying to find safety. However the number of Digimon had diminished as well. While escaping Odaiba, Izzy had to hide three times from passing Knightmon squadrons. Out here, he hadn't encountered one. It seemed they hadn't reached this area yet.

"I found them." A voice barked from outside the store, where Izzy was resting in a chair behind the counter while Gomamon snacked on some chips.

"Who is that?" Izzy grunted. In answer, the door burst open and a blue dog with its nose to the ground and an overweight boy in a jumpsuit stormed into the building.

"Oh no." Izzy groaned at the sight of J.P. and Gaomon. "Gomamon, trouble!" Gomamon jumped out of the chip aisle, ready to defend against the intruders.

"Give me back my digivice." J.P. ordered.

"Sorry, but we've got bigger problems to take care of." Gomamon barked back. "Or perhaps you haven't noticed the Digimon apocalypse going on outside.

"Why do you think we sought you out?" Gaomon replied angrily as he stood into a defensive stance. "These guys just showed up out of nowhere and attacked us. We're looking for a little payback."

"Why? Your digivice is broken anyway. What good can you do?" Izzy scoffed.

"Argh, shut up!" J.P. growled. "I'm taking these bastards down. The cheap jackasses attacked me from my own portal. I'll-"

"Portal?" Izzy interrupted. "The gray smoke," He looked up to the sky outside the window at the mysterious fog hovering above the city, "It was you! You opened another portal to the digital world and let out that fog, and these Digimon were waiting behind it. This is all your fault!" He cried.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know this would happen?" J.P. yelled back. "Besides, they attacked me, I'm as much a victim in this as you are!"

"Victim?" Izzy rolled his eyes. "This completely your fault!"

"How do you figure?" J.P. Snorted.

"Let's see, a group of humans travel to the digital world and try and take it over, capturing Digimon and using them as their slaves. Next thing you know, Digimon travel to our world and attack our city and capture the humans inside it. How is this not your fault!"

"Argh, at least I'm trying to fix it. As soon as I get my digivice back Gaomon and I'll take these bastards down."

"By yourself?" Izzy asked, an idea forming in his head. "You're not exactly well matched. There's an army of Knightmon roaming the city, as well as untold numbers of ultimate Digimon. Can Gaomon even go past rookie?"

"I can digivolve as far as ultimate, for your information." Gaomon grumbled.

"And you're still seriously outnumbered." Izzy continued. "The only other one here that can take on these Digimon is Gomamon, and even he's at a disadvantage. If you two work with us though, we might stand a fighting chance."

"Are you seriously suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" asked J.P. "If you really think I'll work with the lot of you-"

"If you don't, I guarantee you won't stand a fighting chance against these guys. At least this way we stand a chance of finding a way to get them out of our world." J.P. was silent for a few seconds as he contemplated what Izzy had just said.

"You might be right." He said reluctantly. "But I need my digivice if I'm to do anything."

"You mean this?" Izzy pulled the broken pieces of J.P.'s digivice out of his pocket, then dropped them back inside.

"You had it this whole time?" He asked, stunned.

"Joe, Gomamon's partner, his digivice is broken as well. I thought it might be a good reference point, and a good test subject in case anything went wrong. Follow me to Joe's house, and I'll fix the both of your digivices so you can take these guys on."

"Sounds like a plan, I guess." J.P. growled. "Let's get going. I don't want to be around you any more than I have to be." He stepped outside while Gaomon followed, and Izzy walked out from behind the counter to join them.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Izzy?" Gomamon asked warily as the boy picked him up and started towards the door.

"We need them for now, and don't forget: J.P.'s probably being controlled by a dark needle, if Henry can make both out of that dark gear he found in that fortress in the digital world, and trying to fix his digivice in his presence could also help us figure out how to help him."

**1:05 P.M, Digital World**

Halsemon flew at lightning speed over the ocean, with the two humans clutched onto her back. Takato sat up front with Guilmon tucked in as best he could. Sora was behind Takato, her arms around his waist, with Kudamon squeezed in the middle. Hawkmon brought up the rear, barely hanging on off of Halsemon's back.

"You're so fast, Halsemon, even with all of us on your back. It's amazing!" Sora complemented as they flew.

"Yes, usually I can make this trip in two hours, but with all the passengers, it will take five at best. Still, we should be able to arrive on the island with plenty of time to get our operation under way. The cover of darkness will also do much aid us in our task." Halsemon increased altitude and left the open sea behind, opting to fly above the clouds. "As small a difference as this will make, flying at a higher altitude will allow us to cover more distance faster. Just conserve your breath, for there is less air up here."

**1:09 P.M, Digital World**

** Submarimon raised his head above the surface of the water to see if it was just a light trick, reflecting off the water in such a way that one could not see it. But there was no doubt: the dark spire was gone. Built in the courtyard of Henry's fortress, the tower rose two stories above the complex, or at least it used to. Now the sky above the fortress was completely empty, while Digimon roamed freely on the rooftop, conversing in murmurs too low for Submarimon to hear. But the submersible Digimon knew what had happened: Shurimon the traitor and the two digidestined had arrived upon the island and in Henry's absence had assaulted it, destroying the dark spire and turning all of the minions on the island to the digidestined side. Displeased, Submarimon dove back into the water and turned around towards Shadowtech.**

**1:10 P.M, Digital World**

** Iori spotted a flash of white out of the corner of his eye, then a splash of water. He turned to the sea where he spotted the movement, but there was nothing to be found.**

"What's wrong Iori?" Jeri asked as she and Lunamon joined him at the railing of the fortress' roof-walkway.

"Nothing, I just saw a fish, that's all. Just a large, white fish." He murmured the last part.

"A large, white fish, eh?" Another Digimon joined them: Rhinomon, a creature true to its namesake but with golden, jewel encrusted armor covering it. The monster, second in command of the island, continued. "You sure that's what you saw?"

"Yeah, it rose above water for a second and then dove back down." Iori replied.

"I'm afraid that was no fish you saw child, that was most likely Submarimon."

"Who?" Iori inquired.

"One of Henry's, well I should say _only_, top general, who commands the navy and amphibious forces of Henry's army. He left earlier this morning for Shadowtech Island, and most likely returned to find the dark spire gone."

"No doubt he's gone back to Shadowtech to warn MadLeomon, so they can mount a counterattack." Jeri speculated. "Looks like we've got our work cut out for us after all."

"Yeah, looks like." Iori sighed.


	17. Dusk

**Chapter Seventeen: Dusk**

**Downtown Tokyo, Japan**

**1:30 P.M: January 30****th****, 2010**

A tall figure, shrouded in mist, walked slowly along a street in downtown Tokyo. The army of Knightmon in his employ were gathered around in random groups, taking humans to designated shelters for containment. Unfortunately, there were a lot of humans. Too many for the leader's taste. He hated the lot of them.

"Master," A towering creature appeared standing above him, addressing him in a humble manner, "According to reports, besides the portal where we first made contact, the area with the highest level of interference with the digital world is located to the south, a region called Odaiba."

"Is there any way to be certain that what we are looking for is there?" The master inquired.

"The tail we placed on the human you first encountered upon entry into this wretched world has also reported in. The human and its Digimon partner made it almost all the way to Odaiba before meeting up with another human boy with a Digimon partner and escaping to the west. We think they both originate from that area."

"It's a good enough place to start. Keep the tail on the two digidestined in case they meet up with any others, and take me to Odaiba. I want all the humans there in one place by the time I arrive."

"Yes sir, it will be done. Should I have SkullSatamon continue to flush them out of the area, or begin in another?"

"Change him to crowd control. I don't want anyone leaving the area until I've had a chance to survey it, understood?"

"Yes sir." The subordinate replied, and then found a messenger Digimon to relay the orders to SkullSatamon while he took his master to the island fortress of Odaiba.

**Shadowtech Island, Digital World**

**2:30 P.M**

MadLeomon pouned at the transceiver, trying futilely to get it to work. The radio transmitter had picked a hell of a time to malfunction. They hadn't been able to contact Reboot and alert them of the arrival of the digidestined, so Submarimon had gone to make the report in person. MadLeomon abandoned the transmitter, defeated, and returned to his desk, looking at the report he had been writing for Master Henry. Mostly complete, he decided there would be no harm in resting his eyes for a few minutes.

"MadLeomon!" Digmon exclaimed as he threw the doors to ShadowTech Island headquarters open. The black lion lifted his head up off his desk, surprised by the intrusion.

"I guess I didn't _need_ a nap." The creature grumbled. "What is it now Digmon? Wait, weren't you on your way to Reboot?"

"I rushed back here," Digmon sighed, out of breath, "We've got a problem. The dark spire at Reboot is missing."

"Missing?" MadLeomon groaned as he realized the implications. "Is it them?"

"Who else?" Digmon replied rhetorically. "We need to mount an assault on that island immediately."

"I'll prepare the soldiers, leave a skeleton crew of champions on the island, and prepare a dark spire immediately-"

"No!" Digmon objected. "By the time we get there, most of the Digimon will have removed their black gears, if Shurimon has anything to say about it. The dark spire will be more detrimental to us than helpful. Leave the armored Digimon here and bring the champions, most are stronger and more experienced. We'll attack under cover of night fall."

**Primary Village**

**File Island, Digital World**

**3:00 P.M**

"This doesn't make any sense." Henry sat amidst a field of digi-eggs, a look of confusion on his face. He had just completed the survey of every digi-egg on the island, and had not found what he was looking for. "I placed enough dark energy in that digi-egg to corrupt two Digimon, why haven't I found it?"

"What's the problem?" Kairo appeared at his side, watching the screen of his digivice.

"I can't find the egg." Henry hissed silently.

"What egg?" Kairo asked, not seeming the least bit intrigued. "We've gathered all of the Royal Knights and their allies, there's no one left to look for."

"No, there's one more." Henry growled as he stood up off the ground. "Yah!" He stomped his foot through one of the digi-eggs, which disappeared with a flutter of data.

"So who else are we looking for?" Kairo inquired.

"No one." Henry contained himself. "What's the status on our visitors?" He looked to the digivice Kairo was holding.

"They're about two hours out. They'll arrive just before sundown. Have you given any thought to how you want to deal with them when they arrive?"

"Let them come, think they're about to topple this stronghold. Hell, let them destroy the dark spires for all I care," He picked up his digivice, which was coated in a dark aura, and smiled, "Just make sure they find themselves at the top of Infinity Mountain before they actually start to cause some damage."

"Yes sir." Kairo pocketed his digivice and walked off, leaving Henry to himself.

**3:01 P.M**

"He can't find it." Arkadimon murmured to Leormon, repeating Henry's thought. "Two years in the making and he can't find the damn egg." He and Leormon were standing at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the clearing where Henry stood.

"There was always the possibility this would happen." Leormon sighed. "The Digimon must be within a zone not under Henry's control."

"But the energy he placed within that Digimon should be enough to transform it inexplicably evil. It should have been naturally attracted to Henry's army if it wasn't destroyed by them."

"Are we sure he can detect the energy?" Leormon asked, wary of the boy standing in the field below. "Just because he was able to place it within the Digimon, it does not mean he has the capability of sensing it."

"He assured us he could!" Arkadimon struggled to keep his voice down.

"Then perhaps we were the fools to trust him."

"I don't believe it." Arkadimon growled. Leormon was about to reply, then realized he was looking behind them. Leormon turned to see a towering black dog a few yards away, staring at them. "Dobermon. He's been gone for ages."

"What do you think he wants?" Leormon murmured.

"Let's find out." Arkadimon moved away from the cliff and towards the champion Digimon.

"It took you long enough to notice me." The dog spoke calmly. "I swear, sometimes you two are so wrapped up in your own problems you fail to notice what's going on around you."

"Where have you been Dobermon?" Arkadimon growled as he and Leormon circled him. "You went to find the location of the temple years ago. What have you been doing?"

"Working, of course." Dobermon chuckled. "You think it's easy finding a place that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is?"

"Do not speak to us in riddles Dobermon, did you find the temple?" Leormon hissed.

"Yes. It took me a while, but I have secured the location, at a painful cost, I might add."

"Great, where is it?" Arkadimon inquired.

"Nuh-uh-uh, not so fast." Dobermon shook his head. "What about your end of the bargain? Have you procured the energy we will need to perform the ritual?"

"We're still working on it." Arkadimon replied.

"Working on it?" Dobermon cocked his head. "Have you been doing anything since the last time I saw you?"

"We have the energy we need to perform the ritual, growing inside a Digimon born here two years ago," Leormon barked, "We just have yet to harvest it."

"Oh?" Dobermon scoffed. "Well then. I'll leave you to it. I have some business that needs taking care of, but I'll be done soon and then I'll return. Hopefully you'll have the energy by then."

"You can count on it." Arkadimon replied irritably. "We'll see you in a few days then, I guess?"

"Yes, see you then." Dobermon then stood up and walked off away from the cliff and vanished into the forest.

"I never thought I'd see him again." Leormon commented. "Figured he'd either gone and got himself killed again or found something more interesting than searching for a mythical temple."

"Mythical?" Arkadimon raised his brow. "We both know that temple is anything but mythical. It holds the power to grant what was taken away from us. I've been waiting a hundred years to reclaim what was mine."

"Well past a hundred years my friend," Leormon laughed, "It's just been that long since we've had any hope of reclaiming what was lost." Leormon turned his head towards Henry, who had given up looking through digi-eggs and was returning to Primary Village. "It seems, however, that our wait is almost over. In just a few short days Dobermon will return with the location of the temple, and by then Henry will have supplied us with the energy, even if we have to forcibly take it from his body."

"You're right, we will retrieve that energy, no matter what."

**Kido Residence**

**Tokyo, Japan**

**3:10 P.M**

A knock on the door called Joe out of his short nap and off the couch. He walked to the door and opened it to find Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi standing in the hallway.

"You live very far away." Izzy breathed, his chest heaving up and down. "What on earth were you doing in Odaiba two weeks ago. Why would you ever travel down there?"

"What happened to you?" Joe inquired. "How'd you get here? The trip takes three hours by foot. I've been here since one."

"We had to hide from the constant patrols of Knightmon across the city." Izzy replied. "How'd you get here so fast?"

"Walked down the subway tunnels," Joe shrugged, "Seemed safest. Come in. Where's Gomamon?"

"Subway?" Izzy cried, then entered the apartment and dropped onto the couch, exhausted. "Gomamon's downstairs, waiting for me to tell you that we teamed up with Junpei and Gaomon. Safety in numbers, that sort of thing. I promised to fix his digivice too."

"Oh, great." Joe grumbled, then walked over to the intercom by the door. "Gomamon, bring them up." He spoke. A minute later, Gomamon, Gaomon, and Junpei appeared at the door.

"Joe!" Gomamon leaped from the ground and wrapped his paws around Joe's waist, squeezing him tight.

"Happy to see you too, Gomamon." He hugged his partner in return, and then dropped him back to the ground. Junpei and Gaomon entered in the meantime.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road." Izzy stood up. "Joe, where's your digivice?"

"It's in the other room, this way." He led them down the hall and into a tidy room with a bed, bookcase, dresser, and computer desk. In the desk drawer was a small bag, where Joe's fractured digivice lay. The damage was like Junpei's, as if it had been smashed into the ground or sat upon. Izzy didn't bother asking what happened to it and immediately set to work on both digivices at the computer desk.

"Hey Joe," Gomamon called his partner's attention as they, Gaomon, and Junpei returned to the living room.

"What's up Gomamon?" Joe asked.

"Where's Tai?"

**File Island, Digital World**

**7:30 P.M**

The sun, while still shining brightly, began to fall in the westward sky, setting the sea ablaze with yellows, reds, and violets. The beach of File Island was a tranquil scene at this time of day, especially during the warm summer months of the southern hemisphere. At this time, a Halsemon with five passengers landed on the island, conversed for a few minutes, and then dove into bushes just as a Stegomon, a stegosaurus Digimon, came around the corner, marching down the beach. The armor Digimon was patrolling the beach, making sure there were no discrepancies in the area. Halfway down the beach, he was jumped by Halsemon and Shurimon, pinned to the ground with his mouth clamped shut while Sora and Takato clambered onto its back, located the black gear nestled between two of the Digimon's bladed fins, and pulled it out with a combined effort.

"Thank you for freeing me from that curse," The Stegomon quietly spoke to the group after having a few minutes to regain himself, "But what are you doing here? If Henry discovers that you're here you all will be as good as dead."

"We're planning on taking this island back from Henry," Shurimon explained, "By destroying the main five dark spires that broadcast the dark beacon from the mainland."

"And you need my help don't you?" Stegomon realized.

"Yes," Halsemon nodded, "We need to quietly remove the black gears from as many Digimon as possible while hiding our presence before we can begin to take out the towers, so we can destroy them as quickly as possible and block any opposition until then."

"Will you help us?" Takato asked the dinosaur. "You're the only one of us who can blend in and not arouse suspicion. We need you to help free as many armored Digimon from the black gears as possible."

"I guess I don't really have a choice," Stegomon sighed, "It's either that or continue to serve Henry, as evil as he is. And I can't exactly get off this island." He looked at the water and shivered.

**Quasi-Gulag**

**7:34 P.M**

Darkness covered the island of Reboot. The moonlight was almost nonexistent, hidden above the clouds, as well as a trio of Brimpmon surfing silently through the night sky. MadLeomon had waited four hours for the sun to begin to go down, then mounted a platoon of champion Digimon and took off into the night. The two hour trip made Digmon anxious, but MadLeomon assured him that the longer they took to arrive, the less expectant the enemy would be of their arrival. A sneak attack under the cover of darkness at a time when they were not expected would be the best way to attack the island. Now, above the island, the Digimon prepared to make their move. They lowered the Brimpmon into the clouds and dipped the gondola below, to observe the condition of the island without revealing themselves. Nobody was topside.

"This is odd," MadLeomon contemplated, "What's going on down there? Not a guard in site. It's almost as if they up and left the island altogether."

"Or they're prepared for us." Digmon growled. "Could it be?" He exclaimed one second too late. A storm of bullets then exploded from the island and tore into the clouds above, tearing into the Brimpmon's main body. The Digimon lost control and fell towards the ocean near the island.

"It's a trap! They're expecting us!" MadLeomon exclaimed into a short wave radio shared by the captains of each Brimpmon. "Change the plan! Perform a full assault and recover the crew of Brimpmon One!" He exclaimed just before the gondola plunged into the water.

**Kido Residence**

**Tokyo, Japan**

**7:45 P.M**

Joe stood up off his bed, where he had been watching Izzy work on the digivices, and walked over to the desk. He pulled open the drawer, where his tag and crest lay amidst some papers and office supplies. "Izzy, Yolei told me that the digivices weren't working since there was no data here to use for digivolution." Joe addressed the boy as he grabbed the pendant. "So how why do you think they'll work now?" He inquired as he leaned against the wall.

"Do you see that fog out there?" Izzy looked out to the gray mist outside, and Joe nodded. "It came from the digital world, along with these invaders. As soon as it hit, my computer lost Internet service, just like in the digital world. Also all the phone lines going out of Tokyo have been cut off, only a call inside the city can be made. Not that anyone's too preoccupied with their phone service right now."

"So what does that mean Izzy?"

"I believe that this gray fog is actually a digital field, essentially transforming the city into an extension of the digital world, that the invaders created so that they'd have their abilities in the real world that otherwise would be lost to them."

"Allowing us access to the powers that we normally wouldn't have as well," Joe realized. Izzy didn't respond, so Joe exited the room, where in the living room Gomamon was busy fortifying the windows and door. Joe looked down at his tag and the crest of reliability. Only now, he didn't feel deserving of the crest's power. While he knew that there was no other choice but to run away and leave Tai behind, he couldn't help but feel guilty as if he had betrayed his friend.

"Knightmon are outside." Junpei announced while watchingout the bedroom window. Izzy continued operating on both digivices, which were separated into individual components in two separate piles while a third Digivice, Izzy's, sat with its inside components spread open for observation. "Did you hear me? It won't be soon before they find their way up to this apartment. Is there any way you can go any faster?"

"These digivices are extremely complicated machines," Izzy replied with disdain, "not to mention the fact that your and Joe's digivices are extremely different. I've had to open my own digivice to figure out how to fix Joe's and use both as a model for how to fix yours. And there's also the problem that these were created in another universe."

"But they're based off of technology in our universe, right?" Joe asked as he returned to the bedroom with Gomamon at his heels. "So hypothetically the digivices should be based off of some Earth technology."

"That's true," Izzy replied while focusing on the devices in front of him, "I've already been able to compare Joe and my digivices with a German style of circuitry, but I don't have any idea what it's based on specifically."

"They're in." Junpei announced, watching the Knightmon storm inside the lobby. "Izzy, hurry."

"Did you hear a word I said?" Izzy growled.

"It doesn't change the fact that they'll be up here any minute." Junpei grumbled. "We need to get out of here now."

"Wait a second," Izzy murmured to himself, having forgotten he was having a conversation with Junpei, "I've got it."

"You fixed them?" Joe asked optimistically.

"I can fix one." Izzy answered. "I've been taking an account of everything that's damaged and fixing whatever I can. Both motherboards are broken, though, and I didn't know how to repair them. But I can replace the one in your digivice, Joe, with the one in mine for now. We'll have to stop by a computer store to find a replacement for J.P.s, but at least we'll have one. Everything else should be ready to go."

"Then do it." Junpei barked. Silence overcame the room at his command, and the group could then hear Knightmon storming up the stairway. "They know we're here."

"How?" Gaomon hopped up onto the desk and looked out the window. "Oh." The group stared out the window to see a bipedal bull, as tall as the window, staring into the room. The Minotarumon, an upright bull-man with a machine gun on one arm, had been examining the apartments and happened to look in on the open window with a pair of Digimon inside.

"We need to get out of here!" Joe exclainmed and grabbed Izzy's shoulder.

"Hold them off I'm almost done!" Izzy exclaimed.

"Two rookies against an army of ultimates is not a fair match up!" Gaomon complained. "We'll be slaughtered for sure."

"Think you can stay alive for one minute?" Izzy asked. "Because that's how long I need."

"Of course we can." Gomamon replied before Gaomon could protest. He then pulled Gaomon down off the desk and rushed out the door.

"That guy's going to give us trouble." Junpei stared up at the Minotarumon and closed the blinds. "You guys can get your partners to mega, right?"

"Gomamon hasn't been able to pass ultimate since they removed the dark needle from me." Joe answered. "But don't worry, he's been doing this for over 100 years. A Minotarumon is nothing to him." Junpei didn't look reassured.

"Are you finished?" Junpei looked to Izzy.

"I just finished taking out the motherboard in my digivice." He answered with tweezers in hand.

"Dammit Izumi you're moving like molasses." Junpei growled.

"I'm dealing with extremely delicate equipment here." Izzy replied angrily. "I should be taking my time with this, but instead I'm rushing. So let me work."

"Ugh!" Gaomon grunted to hold the barrier with Gomamon as the Knightmon on the other side attacked the door.

"Almost done," Izzy murmured.

"The big guy looks agitated." Junpei whined as he peered through an open blind at the towering monster outside."Oh, this won't be good."

"What?" Joe asked.

"Get down now!" Junpei ordered and dropped to the floor. Joe jumped on Izzy and pulled him down in protest, just as a storm of bullets tore through the window and into the room, shredding the computer monitor and the opposite wall.

"Damnit Joe!" Izzy grumbled after the gunfire stopped. "You could have broken the digivice again!"

"You were almost dead!" Joe yelled back in disbelief.

"Lucky for you, I finished." He leaned up and grabbed the completed digivice off of the desk, cutting his hand on some glass in the process, and tossed it to Joe.

"Get in the closet in the back." Joe ordered Izzy and Junpei as Izzy scooped up the other two digivices and dropped them into a pouch. "Gomamon, let's go!"

"I've got a better idea." Gomamon smiled as he ran into the room.

**7:49**

"Are they dead yet sir?" One of the Knightmon by Minotarumon's feet asked the latter.

"I'll know when the smoke clears." The bull-man answered. "Huh?"

"Marching Fishes!" A stream of fish poured out of the hole in the apartment building, shooting straight across towards Minotarumon. The bull easily dodged by moving his head, and the school shot into a window across the street.

"That was a pathetic shot." Minotarumon scoffed at the Gomamon who was standing at the edge of the gap in the building.

"Wasn't aiming for you." Gomamon snapped back, and Minotarumon turned to see three humans and a Digimon standing in the newly opened room.

"Thanks for the escape Gomamon!" Joe called to his partner across the street.

"Get them!" Minotarumon ordered the Knightmon below and turned to finish off the rookie.

"Not happening big guy," Gomamon chuckled and then jumped out of the building.

**"Gomamon, warp digivolve to... Zudomon!"** Zudomon, the clawed walrus with a shell on its back, horn on its head, and hammer in hand, crashed onto the earth, crushing three Knightmon. Minotarumon jumped back and prepared to fire.

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon cried before Minotarumon could fire and slammed his weapon into the ground, sending a shockwave of energy towards Minotarumon, who could not dodge in the narrow corridor of the Tokyo street and took the blast full force.

"Do either of you have a smart phone?" Izzy asked Joe and Junpei, who were watching the battle, while he set up the digivices on an abandoned desk in what was once an office building.

"No," They both replied as Zudomon smashed his mallet across Minotarumon's jaw, "Why?"

"I need a small motherboard with a lot of processing power." Izzy answered. "Both of you go and see if you can find something in this office like a smart phone."

"But, Zudomon's-" Joe protested as Minotarumon threw a punch at the walrus, who grabbed the attacker's fist and pulled him into a headbutt. Izzy gave the pair a dirty look, and they both took off into the wrecked office.

"You too Gaomon," Izzy ordered the dog, who groaned in protest and walked off.

Zudomon headbutted Minoatarumon, impaling the bull with the jagged horn on his head and destroying the beast. "What a sad excuse for an ultimate." Zudomon scoffed, and turned to face the squadron of Knightmon at his heels.

"Will this work?" Joe asked, returning to Izzy with a blackberry in hand.

"Perfect," Izzy took the device from Joe and set to work opening it, "Give me a few minutes." Joe complied, and he, Junpei, and Gaomon went back to watching Zudomon decimate the Knightmon soldiers that had congregated in the street.

"Oh, he's way stronger than me." Gaomon admitted sorely, watching Zudomon handle multiple ultimate level Digimon with ease.

"Yeah, I noticed." Junpei winced.

"At least you two can contribute to the fight now." Izzy announced, and the three observers turned to him. "Catch." Izzy tossed Junpei's repaired digivice to him, giving the evil tamer something to smile about.

"Show those guys they messed with the wrong town, Gaomon." Junpei sneered.

"It would be my pleasure." Gaomon laughed and jumped out of the window as well. **"Gaomon, warp digivolve to... MachGaogamon!"** MachGaogamon was a thirty foot tall version of Gaomon with metal gauntlets and boots, a belt strung around his chest, and a rocket on his back. "Gaoga Tornado!" MachGaogamon rose into the air and shot downwards, pummeling the Knightmon below.

**File Island**

**8:23 P.M**

"I don't get it." Kairo stared at the screen of his digivice, watching the positions of the other digidestined on the island. "They haven't moved in forever. What are they doing?"

"They're planning something." Henry growled, staring out the window of the command center atop Infinity Mountain. "What's their exact location?"

"I can't be sure, but they're somewhere near the north beach." Kairo answered.

"Near the north dark spire," Henry realized, "that tower is closest to the mainland. They think that if they take out the main towers of the island that they'll be able to dismantle the dark beacon. They're fools."

"They must be gathering their forces, destroying the black gears in our troops, so that they can take out all of the towers at once. I should run interference."

"Don't bother," Henry smiled, "Let them be. I want them to think they've won before I snatch their victory from right in front of them."

"As you wish." Kairo sighed. At that, four explosions rocked the island.

"And so it begins." Henry smiled.


	18. Justice

Hello, it's me again. Yeah, it's been awhile, seven months or so, but in my defense the last two weeks were me waiting for Oapekay to finish editing. So... could you blame him?

**Chapter Eighteen: Justice**

**Skies of Tokyo, Japan**

**8:03 P.M: January 30****th****, 2011**

MachGaogamon shot through the skies of Tokyo with four passengers on his back, each ducked behind his head to avoid the ferocious winds as the canine zipped across the distance from Joe's house to Odaiba in a fraction of the time it took on foot.

"So what do we do once we get to Odaiba?" Junpei shouted above the winds.

"First we'll regroup with Kari," Izzy struggled to be heard, "And then we'll figure out where the Knightmon have taken Tai and get him out of there."

"Finding your friends: that's your priority?" Junpei rolled his eyes. "I think we'd be better off focusing on more important things, like stopping that SkullSatamon and figuring out what these Digimon are doing here."

"You want to stop these Digimon with our help?" Izzy asked rhetorically. "Then you'll play by our rules, or we'll have Zudomon pry that dark needle out of you by the tip of his hammer."

"Dark needle?" Junpei whispered to himself. "How do you even know that your friend is still alive anyways?" He yelled at Izzy, exasperated.

"The Knightmon were rounding up humans and taking them somewhere," Izzy answered, "Not killing them on sight. They must want something from us."

"Why do you think that?" Junpei asked as MachGaogamon landed in the courtyard of the apartment complex. He scooped them off of his back and then degenerated. "How do you know they're not just gathering everyone up before they kill them? That's what we did." Junpei said, immediately regretting his words.

"What do you mean by that?" Joe glared at the evil tamer, approaching him angrily. Junpei refused to answer. "What did you do?" Joe rushed at the boy and grabbed him by the collar. Gaomon lunged at Joe in response, but Gomamon intercepted him and pinned him to the ground. "Who did you round up and destroy?" Joe cried, but he already knew the answer.

"Hmph," After a long moment of silence, Junpei grunted, finally responding, "We assaulted File Island because we need to eliminate our greatest enemy. Once that's done, nothing can stop us from taking over the digital world."

"Who is your greatest enemy?" Izzy asked the boy angrily.

"The other Digimon partners," Joe answered for the evil tamer, "Agumon, Gabumon, Renamon, and all the others."

"And Terriermon," Izzy's chest dropped.

"Any Digimon can be reconfigured as a Digi-egg when it's destroyed," Junpei continued, "But when a Digi-egg is destroyed, it isn't reconfigured. Instead the digi-core is destroyed and the Digimon is lost forever. Right now Henry has gathered most of the Digi-eggs of your partners, and when he's sure he has all of them he'll wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"Ayah!" Izzy shot forward and punched Junpei in the nose, knocking him out of Joe's grasp and onto the ground. "You bastard." He growled at Junpei, who was glaring at him from the ground as he put pressure on his now bleeding nose. "If anything happens to Terriermon..."

"Don't, Izzy," Joe placed his palm on Izzy's shoulder, "Don't worry. Takato, Guilmon, and the others are in the digital world right now, and they're going to make sure that Henry is defeated and the other Digimon are safe."

"I know." Izzy said behind clenched teeth. "I'm sorry for losing control like that. Let's get moving." He said as he turned around and walked towards the apartment complex.

"Get up." Joe barked at Junpei, who stood to his feet and followed Joe and Gomamon from a distance with Gaomon at his side, his irritation clear.

"Kari!" Izzy burst open the door, terrified, after having repeatedly knocked and received no answer. He searched around the room for signs of anyone, but found none. Kari, her family, and Izzy's parents were gone.

"Where is everybody?" Joe asked with concern as he entered the boiler room.

"I don't know. Check upstairs!" Izzy rushed past Joe and Junpei to the stairwell, first to his apartment, then to the Kamiyas'. He remembered Yolei's family and ran to their apartment, but no one was inside. The doors to all the apartments had been broken in, and signs of a struggle indicated Yolei's family had been captured. Izzy felt bad for forgetting to get Yolei's family to safety, but right now he was primarily concerned with what happened to the others.

"I can't find anyone." Izzy sighed to Joe as they exited the complex into the abandoned courtyard. "What happened to them?"

"The Knightmon probably found them and took them to wherever Tai is. That just means that we have to find two digivice signals together using the locator function." Joe grabbed his digivice and began clicking its button, widening the radius of the digivice radar onscreen. He kept clicking until he found what he was looking for. "See, two digivices to the south." He handed his digivice to Izzy, showing him the screen.

"Right then." Izzy sighed with some relief, "Let's go-" He stopped when he saw another blip on the screen, which disappeared a second later. Izzy widened the radius of the radar and found the blip again. "What the…?"

"What is it Izzy?" Joe inquired.

"J.P., is Kairo here in the real world?" Izzy asked the evil tamer.

"No. He went through the portal we opened just before these Digimon came out." Junpei replied. "He's in the digital world right now."

"There's another digivice on the screen." Izzy stated to Joe, showing him the device. "There's another Digidestined here in Odaiba."

"Seriously?" Joe said shocked. He counted the blips on the screen, assuming only five digivices should show up on screen, and finding six. "Mine, J.P.'s, Tai's, Kari's, Yolei's, and a sixth one."

"We should find this one first," Izzy proposed, "Or he could get himself hurt trying to fight off these Digimon. Tai and Kari are probably safe wherever they are for now."

"Who do you think it is?" Joe asked as they started walking in the direction of the sixth digivice. Junpei followed from a distance.

"I don't know; it could be practically anyone. Still, a Digidestined is a Digidestined and it's our duty to find and join up with them before something bad happens to them." Izzy reasoned.

"Right." Joe nodded, and they exited the courtyard and ran out into the streets of Odaiba.

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**Odaiba, Koto Ward, Tokyo, Japan**

**8:04 P.M: January 30****th****, 2010**

Taichi Kamiya sat in the corner of a large room with a hundred other people, crowded into the building by the Knightmon, who were surveying the crowd from catwalks above the main floor. For the last few hours Tai had watched them leave and come back, sometimes with new prisoners collected from around the island. He had kept a watchful eye, hoping that they never brought in any of his friends or family. As much as he wanted to talk to somebody about was happening, he preferred that his family was safe, and that everyone else who knew about the Digimon was out in the city trying to fight them.

Unfortunately for Tai, a group of Knightmon soon entered via a door on the catwalk with Kari and his parents, along with Izzy and Yolei's parents, and a few others he recognized from the Odaiba Apartment complex. Upon seeing them Tai pushed his way out of the corner and fought the crowd to get to the base of the stairs, where the group was being herded down from the catwalk and into the main crowd.

"Kari!" Tai yelled over the crowd's chattering, calling for the attention of his sister. She and his parents turned to see him, and all breathed a sigh of relief. They fought their way to each other, and Tai's parents pulled both of them into a deep hug. "What happened?" Tai sighed once his parents eventually let him go. "I thought Izzy hid you guys somewhere safe."

"He did." Kari answered before Susumu and Yuuki could respond. "But when the Knightmon got to the apartments they checked everywhere. They found us in the boiler room but when they dragged us out we saw them digging through closets, looking for people. They're finding everyone they possibly can."

"And bringing them here." Tai said, his eyes gazing across the frightened crowd.

"What do they want from us Tai?" Kari cried.

"I don't know," Tai sighed, "But Joe's probably met up with Izzy by now, and are working on fixing his digivice. If anyone can figure out what's going on right now, it's Izzy Izumi."

**File Island, Digital World**

**8:25 P.M**

Takato and Guilmon held onto Stegomon's back as he raced up Infinity Mountain, a small army of armor Digimon running behind him. Shortly after destroying the dark spire, the group of about 20 armored Digimon had divided in two. Takato had accompanied the majority of the platoon, about 15 Digimon, to trek up to the top of Infinity Mountain, to converge on Henry and the last broadcasting dark spire. Sora had gone with the smaller group to find Primary Village and secure it.

Fortunately, there had been no resistance for Takato's squadron, as they raced up the slope without sighting a single enemy combatant. They stormed through the rocky hills at breakneck speeds, arriving close to the top of Infinity Mountain in a short time. Stegomon stopped just short of the summit, eyeing the shack at the top of the hill, constructed next to a black tower, where Henry was stationed.

"This is it." Stegomon growled quietly, as the other Digimon quieted down and listened. "We rush the tower and take it down before anyone can put up a fight."

"But there's nobody up there." Another Digimon observed. "Why would Henry leave his headquarters unguarded?"

"They're probably hiding, waiting for us to storm up there so they can spring a trap." Takato reasoned. "Which is why everyone needs to form a perimeter around Stegomon and protect him as he rushes the tower. Stegomon," Takato addressed the head of the small unit, "If you can't completely destroy it, at least damage it enough so that the primary signal is disrupted and Guilmon can digivolve, understand."

"Right, I'll handle it." Stegomon nodded. "But you two stay down here for now , we don't want you getting in any unnecessary trouble before you can defend yourselves." Stegomon nodded to a small pile of boulders, and Takato and Guilmon ducked behind them.

"Okay, let's move now." Stegomon whispered, and then the Digimon surrounded him in a protective shield. They then ran uphill, towards the spire.

"Where's the trap?" A Digimon questioned as they neared the spire.

"Spread out!" Stegomon commanded, and they dispersed so that he could reach the tower. He galloped with all his strength towards the spire, and smashed his spiked head into the base with a thunderous crash.

**Infinity Mountain**

**9:40 P.M**

"There they go." Henry watched a team of Digimon appear from the bottom of the hill and run towards the dark spire. They thinned as they neared the spire, and a Stegomon in the middle of the group rammed into the tower with a headbutt. "Do it now." Henry ordered Kairo, who stood silently behind him. Kairo then pressed a switch on a control panel sitting on a desk with other computer equipment, and there was a bright flash outside.

**Infinity Mountain**

**9:41 P.M**

"Argh!" Stegomon roared in pain as electricity surged through him. As soon as he hit the dark spire, electricity flowed into his body and shot him across the ground, where he rolled into a crumbled, unconscious mass.

"Stegomon!" Takato leapt out of his hiding place and bolted to the dinosaur, with Guilmon running close behind. "Stegomon, are you okay?" He came to the monster's aide and held its head.

"Takatomon get down!" Guilmon screamed and leaped onto his partner, knocking him to the ground and dragging them both down the hillside. Guilmon's quick thinking saved Takato from a black gear, which had shot past Takato's shoulder just as Guilmon pounced on him. Stegomon was not so lucky. Another black gear jammed itself into the monster's gut, and he unleashed a blood-curdling scream. Takato and Guilmon watched in horror as the dark spire disintegrated into a column of black gears that shot out in different directions, digging into nearby Digimon.

"Guilmon move out of the way!" Takato sprang up and jumped back behind the boulders with his partner behind him. A few gears narrowly avoided Guilmon and ricocheted off of the rocks, flying off into the air and towards other Digimon.

"Good plan." Somebody scoffed sarcastically from beyond the boulders. Takato risked a look and saw Kairo standing on the hill next to Stegomon, who had recovered and was now following Kairo's command. "Taking out all of the main dark spires couldn't have been easy. I'm sure, had you been right about how the dark beacon works, that you'd have succeeded in crippling our power center."

"What do you mean?" Takato growled through clenched teeth.

"Grab them." Kairo ordered a pair of Yasyamon, who complied swiftly. Guilmon was about to resist, but Takato waved him down. He knew they had lost.

**Infinity Mountain**

**9:45 P.M**

Henry waited in the small brick building, leaning against a desk covered with papers, as Kairo walked in with Takato. Kairo shoved his cousin into a chair and held him down by the shoulder as Henry pushed himself off the desk and walked towards Takato.

"How did you do it?" Takato asked nonchalantly. "The dark spires are supposed to broadcast the dark beacon. We took out the five that were connected to the mainland, so the signal should be severed."

"What, you're not interested in how I transformed the spire into a mass of black gears?" Henry asked cockily. "You see, interestingly enough, the spires and the gears are made-"

"I don't care." Takato barked. "Listen, you've already won, you don't have to brag about it. I just want to know, how are you still controlling the Digimon on this island?" He asked as he looked out a window at Guilmon, who was pinned down by the two Yasyamon outside. Kairo looked to Henry, silently asking if they should answer. Henry nodded.

"I thought you were smarter than that Takato." Kairo shook his head as he took his hand off of his cousin's shoulder and walked off towards the door. "You only eliminated the device used to spread the broadcast of the dark beacon; you didn't destroy its source."

"Its source?" Takato's jaw dropped, looking at the two boys. "You have something here that's the source of the dark beacon?"

"Of course," Henry sighed, grabbing his digivice off of his belt, "Besides, if I can't use my digivice to share power with my partner, I might as well use it for something."

"Your digivice...?" Takato whispered. "But how did you-?"

"I think that's enough exposition for now." Henry silenced him, and replaced the digivice back onto his belt. "Kairo, what's the status on the others, the ones that came in with him?"

"According to the squadron out there," Kairo answered, "There's a digidestined girl with a small group of five headed for Primary village, and another three groups of four on the south, west, and east beaches, where the other spires were destroyed. They were supposed to spread out around the island and establish control once the tower was destroyed. Two of the groups are lead by Shurimon and Halsemon. I guess they turned her before arriving."

"It's a shame," Henry sighed, "Those two had so much potential. Try and get them back, but if not I don't want them posing a serious threat to us. Destroy them if need be."

"Yes sir." Kairo nodded, and exited the shack to deal with the situation.

"Now you." Henry turned to Takato, who sat quietly in his chair, twitching with anger. "What should I do with you?" He asked, slowly walking closer to the boy. "I want it to be something really painful, but I don't want to have you on my hands for too long. What do you think? Should I go with quick and painless, or the alternative?" Henry cocked his head.

"Ayah!" Takato lunged at Henry with a balled fist, but Henry shrugged off the attack, swatted Takato to the side, and let him crash into the floor. He then grabbed the boy's collar and pinned him against the wall.

"Stupid boy!" Henry bellowed as the darkness surrounding him began to seep across Takato's body, absorbing his life force in the process. "How could you possibly think that was a good idea, attacking me?"

"I wasn't aiming for you." Takato grunted as he slid his arm across the wall and to the window, where his palm now touched the cold glass. Henry's eyes glazed over the boy's balled fist and noted the small object in his grasp. "Guilmon!" Takato yelled with as much strength as he could, gaining the attention of the dinosaur outside. Guilmon immediately responded, springing out of the grip of the Yasyamon, and jumped through the window, snatching Henry's digivice out of Takato's hand.

"No!" Henry tossed Takato aside and lunged at the red dinosaur.

"Break it!" Takato screamed. Henry tried to snatch the device away from the monster's jaws, but he couldn't react in time. Guilmon slammed his jaw shut and crushed the digivice in his mighty grip, reducing it to pieces of scrap. Henry pounced on Guilmon, knocking the wind out of him and causing the Digimon to spit the remains of the device out of his mouth and onto the floor. Henry immediately scooped up the shattered bits of metal and plastic, attempting to reassemble them, but it was no use. The digivice was completely destroyed, divided into hundreds of pieces by Guilmon's powerful jaw muscles.

"No, no!" Henry cried, his body twitching in a ferocious frenzy, the darkness that shrouded him slinging around him uncontrollably. "Damn you!" Henry stood up in a rage and turned his attention to Guilmon, but then switched to Takato. He moved back and forth, trying to attack either of the wounded digidestined, but couldn't decide. "Ayah!" Takato grabbed his head and dropped to his knees, as the dark mist that shrouded him consumed him.

"Takatomon?" Guilmon grunted as he stumbled to his feet, concerned. "What's happening?"

"I think we should get out of here boy." Takato said weakly as he pulled himself to his feet.

"What the hell!" Kairo burst into the room, coming to investigate what had just happened, but instead of turning his attention to either Guilmon, Takato, or the broken digivice, he watched in horror as the darkness around Henry grew, while the boy inside screamed in agony. "Oh god..." Kairo bolted out of the room, racing down the hill for safety.

"Guilmon run!" Adrenaline forced Takato to his feet, and the two raced out of the room and after Kairo, who seemed to know what was about to happen. The other Digimon at the top of the mountain stood around in confusion. Stegomon thought about going after them, but he didn't act quickly enough. Within the shack, the darkness around Henry swelled, then constricted, and finally released in a ferocious explosion.

**File Island Forest**

**9:57 P.M**

A sudden rush overcame Kudamon, as if a great restraint had been lifted off of him. He had never digivolved to champion before, but now, he was ready. He and Sora were watching the small group they had been traveling to Primary Village with fight off a vicious attack from a group of flying Digimon, who had jumped them in the middle of the forest.

"They need help." Kudamon said quietly from their hiding spot in the bushes.

"I know but what can we do?" Sora asked remorsefully.

"I can digivolve now." Kudamon stated.

"It's gone now? How can you know for sure?"

"I just know." Kudamon replied. "I can feel it."

"Are you sure?" Sora asked excitedly. "Can you digivolve right _now_ though, since you haven't before?"

"Yes, I'm ready." Kudamon said in excitement.

"Then go for it!" Sora cheered, exposing their hiding place to a Flybeemon.

"It will be my pleasure!" Kudamon lunged out of the bush and darted for the Flybeemon, who closed in to attack. **"Kudamon digivolve to... Reppamon!" **A horse/fox streamed out of the burst of light, with a kabuki mask covering his face, a great silver main flowing behind his ears, and a large blade as a tail that sliced through the air behind the champion's tan and brown body. "Flip blade!" Reppamon curled itself and then span, stricking the Flybeemon with his tail.

**Infinity Mountain**

**10:15 P.M**

Takato awoke groggily, brushing sand and rock off of his face and hair as he struggled to get to his feet. His vision was blurry and a sharp ringing was all he could here, so Takato sat down and waited for his senses to return. Gradually, shapes began to form around him: the dirt beneath him, a cluster of rocks to his right, pillars of smoke rising to the left, up the slope of the mountain. The ringing in his ears didn't end, however, and he realized that the noise was coming from something else. He looked down at his digivice, realized that the ringing was coming from it, and saw that its screen was a vibrant blue, as opposed to the usual black and green grid.

"What happened to you?" He asked himself as he examined the device, pressing the two buttons with no result. "Guilmon!" He suddenly realized. "Guilmon! Guilmon! Where are you?" He looked around frantically, trying to spot his partner, with no success. Instead, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kairo rapidly advancing toward him from uphill.

"Takato," He growled. Takato turned to face him, but Kairo lunged first. He caught Takato in the jaw with his fist, knocking his cousin back onto the ground. "You ruined everything Takato." He spoke in a quiet rage. "Everything I've been working on over the past year, destroyed in one swift motion, by you and your idiotic partner."

"Maybe you shouldn't have put so much faith into such a fragile piece of equipment." Takato choked out a reply as he held his throbbing jaw in his palm. "You put the entire controlling factor of your empire into the palms of an unstable lunatic, and practically bragged to me about it while I was within striking distance."

"You think the dark beacon was all we had?" Kairo scoffed, and then kicked Takato in the chest. Takato tried to block with his other arm, which was holding his torso up, but lost his balance because of it fell backwards, avoiding the strike but slamming his head into the earth, disorienting him. "Henry's power alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of anyone in this universe, whether with us or against us. But you had to make him snap. You made him lose all the power that he had been storing and unleashing it on nothing." Kairo raised his arm and pointed behind him. The building on top of the mountain a short distance away had been obliterated. There was no trace of any of the Digimon that had been there just a few minutes before: including Guilmon. "You've destroyed the dark beacon and Henry, now I have nothing: except you." Kairo glared with disgust. "And what good are you?"

"I can't believe what a cruel bastard you've become." Takato snarled. "You used to be my friend-" He was cut off.

"Monodramon!" Kairo barked, and the dragon growled from behind Takato. Takato pushed himself up and looked back, where Monodramon was poised for attack. "I guess you'll have to settle for dog food." Kairo said to his cousin.

"Don't do this Kairo." Takato pleaded. "Think about it. You don't want him to kill me, it's murder." Kairo looked unaffected. "Kairo!" Takato protested, but Kairo didn't react.

"Destroy him Monodramon." He ordered. Monodramon then bolted forward with his claws extended, towards Takato.

"No!" Takato cried in despair. "Guil-moooonnnn!" He screamed into the air. Kairo scoffed at the cry as his partner closed in on Takato.

A red blur slammed into Monodramon midair and knocked him down the slope a ways. Guilmon grasped Monodramon by the neck and slammed his face into the ground. Monodramon tried to twist around and stab the dinosaur with his talons, but Guilmon released the dragon's neck and swatted Monodramon's arm away with his tail, then jumped and slammed into the dragon's torso, digging his claws into his chest. Monodramon cried out in pain, then with a final swing Guilmon slammed his tail into Monodramon's face and knocked him unconscious.

"Takatomon, are you okay?" Guilmon asked worriedly as he strode up to Takato and pushed him to his feet with his head.

"Yeah, thanks Guilmon." Takato knelt down and hugged him.

"How sweet." Kairo said sarcastically. "The two of you have been reunited, almost as if fate intervened in your inevitable destruction at the last minute." A smile appeared on Kairo's face for the first time. "Unforunately, the only thing you had on your side was the element of surprise, and now that that's gone, I am going to destroy both of you." He pulled his digivice out of his pocket.

"Guilmon can digivolve too Kairo." Takato snarled. "You won't defeat us that easily."

"You think I've been in this world for as long as I have and had Monodramon settle for only the champion level?"

"What are you talking about?" Takato asked nervously.

"Monodramon." Kairo barked again. His seemingly unconscious partner then sprang to his feet, all but uninjured. Kairo pressed the two buttons on his digivice and held them, and then a light began to glow from under his shirt.

"Oh no." Takato gasped, grasping at the crest hanging from his neck as he realized what was happening.

"Kill them Cyberdramon!" Kairo bellowed, and a light burst from his digivice, streamed through his crest (turning the light a bright gray), and enclosed Monodramon, then exploded brilliantly, leaving a new creature where Monodramon had been standing. He stood upright, taller than an adult human, with black armor encasing his entire body except for his snout, blue and baring sharp teeth. A silver mask covered his nostrils and eyes and protruded from the back of his head as two horns. His hands and feet were tipped with metal claws, and he had four crimson wings, torn as if they were battle weathered.

"Takato he's an ultimate!" Guilmon barked.

"Guilmon digivolve now!" Takato ordered. Guilmon nodded, and Takato activated his digivice, but nothing happened. "What?"

"You dumb fool." Said Kairo. "You broke it. Cyberdramon, I'm sick of these two, do what I tell you and finish them off."

"Yes sir." Cyberdramon replied and a deep and raspy voice, and walked rapidly over to the helpless pair.

"Stop!" Shurimon dropped from the sky and landed in between Cyberdramon and his prey. Halsemon then swooped down and landed next to Takato and Guilmon.

"Are you two alright?" She asked as she and Shurimon pulled into a defensive position around them. "We saw the explosion and came to help as soon as we could."

"We're fine." Takato replied. "I found the source of the dark beacon and destroyed it. Then Henry got really angry and the power within him exploded."

"Is he dead?" Shurimon inquired.

"I don't know." Takato shrugged.

"Kill them too Cyberdramon." Kairo ordered impatiently.

"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon wasted no more time. He pulled his claws into his chest as they began to vibrate, surrounded by a faint aura.

"Hide!" Shurimon ordered Takato and Guilmon, and sprang towards Cyberdramon, as Halsemon flanked right. The partners jumped uphill as Cyberdramon threw his arms out and unleashed a shock wave that ripped apart the ground where they had been standing.

"Double Stars!" Shurimon shot his arms out towards Cyberdramon, who knocked them away with ease.

"Tempest Wind!" A spinning Halsemon appeared at Cyberdramon's side and attempted to strike his gut. Cyberdramon quickly turned and grabbed the wings on Halsemon's helmet out of the vortex, stopping his attack. Cyberdramon then smashed the bird into the ground and stomped on her head.

"Ayah!" Shurimon hit the ground, jumped again, and spun to increase the force behind his arm as he flung his shuriken at the back of Cyberdramon's neck. Cyberdramon reacted quickly and blocked with his arm, then grabbed Shurimon's arm and pulled him in close. Shurimon tried to escape but was helpless as Cyberdramon drew him in and punched him in the face, then tossed him onto the ground. Then, Halsemon sprang back up and lunged at Cyberdramon. He responded by elbowing her in the neck and throwing her to the ground once again.

"Pathetic." Kairo watched the one-sided fight with disgust, showing minor enthusiasm as his partner continued to pummel Halsemon and Shurimon.

"Argh!" Takato let out a war cry and charged Kairo, knocking him on his back. Kairo swung at Takato, hitting his face and making him stumble back. Kairo then jumped back up and attacked his cousin. Takato was ready this time, however, and dropped at the last second, letting the evil tamer trip over his body and stumble down the hill. The digidestined then ran after him.

"Takatomon!" Guilmon called to his partner.

"Help Shurimon and Halsemon!" Takato yelled back as he slid down the hillside after Kairo. The evil tamer rolled down, grasping at loose rocks, trying to slow his descent with no success, until he finally grabbed onto a sturdy rock and came to a stop. But Takato was immediately upon him. Kairo looked up just as Takato kicked him in the face, making him release the stone and roll over onto his back.

"You bastard!" Takato landed on Kairo's chest with his knees, pulled his fists back, and began punching his cousin in the face. "How could you! You're my cousin, my friend! And you ordered your partner to kill me! To kill Guilmon, Shurimon, and Halsemon! I don't understand what happened to you but you're evil now, and you're going to pay for everything you've done!" Kairo was unable to resist as Takato continued pounding on him, until Guilmon ran up to them and tugged at Takato's shirt, stopping his onslaught.

"Takatomon stop!" Guilmon pulled his partner off of Kairo and held him down, keeping the flailing boy at bay. Kairo lay there, breathing heavily, his face bloody and swollen. "Takatomon, calm down!"

"No!" Takato protested, but stopped his struggling so Guilmon would let him go. "I won't calm down, not until he pays for what he's done. Digimon have suffered, lives have been lost because of him, and he tried to kill you and all of my friends!"

"What are you going to do Takato?" Kairo coughed blood. "You going to kill me: is that it? You're going to exact your revenge and make me pay for everything I've done?"

"No, not revenge Kairo," Takato panted, "I'm going to make sure your crimes don't go unanswered. I'm going to get justice for each and every one of your victims!" He roared with his chest, pointing with an accusatory stance at Kairo.

"Takato..." Guilmon stared in awe at Takato's chest, where a bright light was emanating from Takato's crest. A beep sounded at Takato's hip just then, and his digivice returned to normal: not broken, just dormant, storing energy.

"Agh!" Shurimon cried in pain as Cyberdramon drove his foot into the ninja's gut. The dragon then took Halsemon, who he had been holding by the neck, and threw her down next to her brother.

"The both of you are pathetic." Cyberdramon growled. "Let's finish this: desolation claw!" He prepared to strike.

"No!" Guilmon headbutted the monster, knocking him away from the armor Digimon.

"Eager to die too?" Cyberdramon asked. "So be it, desolation claw!" He roared, and pulled his arms into his chest.

"I don't think so." Guilmon smiled.

"Guilmon now!" Takato screamed as he activated his digivice.

**"Guilmon, warp digivolve to..."** The light around Guilmon expanded greatly, a few stories tall, and then broke, revealing a new monster. Growlmon was now equipped with machinery: silver gauntlets with blades running their length on his arms, a crimson metal harness encasing his upper body with two booster engines ejected from the back and a silver whip cord hanging in between, as well as a red face plate covering his snout and forehead with horns and jagged ear projections. **"WarGrowlmon!"**

* * *

Okay, so yeah, I was gone for a while, and I wish I could say I had a good excuse, but it was pretty much me being lazy for about three months. The rest of the time though, I was legitimately too busy with school to work on this. So I can't make any promises come September, but at least for the next two months I'll try to post as many chapters as I can. At the very least I will definitely post chapter 19 in the next few weeks, so look for that.


	19. Revelations

Okay, so I actually had this chapter written back in Early August, but my beta reader had computer problems for a couple months so he wasn't able to get it to me until mid-November. Then because of school/new Assassin's Creed/ being lazy I wasn't able to edit it until today. Now hopefully Oapekay will finish the beta on the other three chapters I've sent him and I'll be able to get them to you before the end of the year.

**Chapter Nineteen: Revelations**

**St. Luke's International Hospital**

**Tokyo, Japan**

**8:01 P.M**

"Jim, get up!" Yolei wrestled Joe's brother onto his feet and helped him limp over to a pair of crutches by the doorway.

"What's happening?" Jim asked what was happening as they left the small doctor's office.

"They've broken through the ER." Upon arriving at the hospital, Yolei and Jim had discovered that the Knightmon had launched an assault on the building, which had become the most fortified place in the city. Dozens of police officers were stationed around the hospital behind barriers composed of cars and concrete barriers. "We have to move back now."

Yolei and Jim had slipped in and managed to find a nurse amidst all the chaos that was able to treat Jim's leg and wrap it in a temporary cast. They had then moved back into the building to the closest free room available, a tiny office that housed only a desk and bookshelf.

"Where are we going?" Jim asked as he limped down the hallway on his crutches as fast as he could.

"The upper floors are safe, for now, but it's not looking too good; I don't think the police are going to be able to keep the Knightmon out of here for much longer. We need to get out of here and find Tai and Joe."

"Is that the best idea? I'm not very mobile right now." Joe looked down at his cast.

"I convinced one of the doctors to give me his keys. I can drive us out of here."

"How are we going to get away though? The Knightmon are everywhere."

"Have you seen me drive?"

**Quasi-Gulag**

**Reboot Island**

**10:20 P.M**

The battle had been raging for hours. Iori stood in a tower at the corner of the fortress, watching the main front. Digmon and MadLeomon continually tried to break through enemy forces, but the amount of Digimon that dwelled within the building was immense. Iori was surprised they had even succeeded in destroying the dark spire, with the amount of Digimon that resided in the base; it was a miracle more of them hadn't noticed the commotion on the surface and come to stop them.

Now, however, every Digimon was on high alert and fighting for the other side. Special attackers stood on the ramparts, firing at attackers from all sides, however the bulk was focused on the main gate, where MadLeomon and Digmon were ferociously fighting to get to the door. Most of the enemy forces had either been defeated or had dropped of exhaustion, but MadLeomon and Digmon continued to obliterate the waves of armor Digimon that were pouring out of the castle to stop them.

"Iori?" A soft voice behind him caught the boy's attention. The boy turned his head to see Jeri on the stairs. She had been in the courtyard, helping bandage wounded Digimon that had made it back into the fortress. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah Jeri, I'm fine, just watching Firamon and Lekismon do their stuff." Iori turned his attention back to the battle. While MadLeomon continued to slaughter the majority of their forces, Digmon was preoccupied with Firamon and Lekismon, who were trying to push back both he and MadLeomon away from the entrance. "They're holding Digmon back, but MadLeomon's making his way to the entrance. At this rate, I don't know if we can put him down before he gets in here, and then who knows what will happen?"

"It's going to be okay, Iori." Jeri walked over to him and rested her hand on his shoulder.

"No, it won't Jeri. I'm standing up here doing nothing, and MadLeomon's so powerful he's making waves and waves of armored Digimon, who should be able to stop him in his tracks, look like nothing more than inexperienced children."

"What exactly could you do to help?" Jeri inquired. Iori looked at her, puzzled. "Just now, you said you were standing up here doing nothing, so what could you do to help? You could be bandaging Digimon with me, but somehow I don't think that's what you mean."

"Well," Iori sighed and closed his eyes, "We're supposed to be able to power up our partners so that they can overcome any obstacle. But we're not doing that. We're just standing on the sidelines while they give it their all, and it's still not enough. I just don't want to see Firamon get hurt, because if he does, it'll be my fault."

"No it won't Iori-"

"Oh no!" Iori exclaimed, interrupting her. Jeri looked down at the battlefield and saw what was so upsetting. The last group of fighters left the fortress: everyone else was either already out on the battlefield or wounded and recovering inside. "We're out of Digimon!" Iori ran past Jeri and scrambled down the stairs two at a time.

"Iori wait!" Jeri called after him, but Iori vanished into the dark stairway.

MadLeomon knocked a final Maildramon away and stomped towards the fortress doors, which slammed shut before him. Tired, he was relieved to see the last major enemy forces eliminated. All that remained now were the much less numerous inner forces and wounded soldiers: and the digidestined. He couldn't rest for long, however. As a MadLeomon, his power came from his rage, which boosted his adrenaline a hundredfold, giving him the power needed to fight many more enemies than possible for most ultimate level Digimon.

"Digmon, hurry." MadLeomon called to his companion, who was still facing off with the two partner Digimon. "Take care of those two."

"It's a little harder than that!" Digmon protested as the rabbit and the lion circled him.

"MadLeomon's made it to the fortress," Firamon noted, "What now?"

"We need to fall back and regroup," Lekismon replied, "Before MadLeomon makes it into that courtyard."

"It looks like we're going to have to cut this short. Firamon growled sarcastically to Digmon, then degenerated as he ran over to Lekismon.

"We must do this again sometime." Lekismon nodded, grabbed Coronamon, and then dashed away.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm not done with you two yet!" Digmon screamed furiously.

"Calm down Digmon, we can get them on the other side." MadLeomon groaned as Lekismon jumped over the rampart with a cocky grin, almost as if she was mocking him for his inability to do the same.

**File Island**

**10:22 P.M**

Sora looked behind her at the pillars of smoke steaming from the mountain's summit as she sat on Reppamon's back, who was walking steadily with the rest of the unit into Primary Village. After Kudamon had digivolved, the group seemed to have no problem making their way to the village outskirts. Then, after the explosion, there was no resistance at all as they strode into the toy-block town.

"Why is this place so empty?" Sora inquired as she looked around at the desolate street.

"Perhaps they depleted their forces trying to prevent us from entering, although I don't understand why this place had such a small defense to begin with." Reppamon answered. Just then, as if answering her thought, a battle cry sounded and a wave of enemy Digimon appeared down the road, running towards them.

"Guess they weren't done after all." Sora gulped as Reppamon herded her into the nearest building while the others began to fight. Sora closed the door after he was gone and found herself in total darkness. She felt the walls until she found a light switch and flipped it on to reveal a living room. A large couch was pushed against the wall of the stairs, with a small television on the other and a coffee table in the middle. A kitchen could be seen past an open doorway.

A shuffling sounded from the floor above, making Sora cringe. She kept quiet however, and decided to investigate. She slipped off her shoes and tip-toed upstairs, noiseless, to the next floor. A hallway led to a window overlooking the street below, with a row of doors on each wall. Sora passed an open door revealing a bathroom, then ducked in, looking for a weapon. She found a broom, and seeing no better alternative screwed off the bristle tip and held the handle like a staff, then slowly walked over to the next door.

Sora placed her ear next to the door, and after quieting her breath, began to listen to the noises coming from within. She heard a labored breathing, and thinking it was a Digimon lying in wait to attack her, slowly backed away, tensed. Then something occurred to her, and she pressed her ear against another door. There was no one breathing in there. She shuffled to the next door and listened, and heard another creature breathing heavily. She checked the other three doors and found two more creatures breathing deeply.

Having no doubt that she wasn't noticed by those behind the doors, Sora returned to the door where she heard nothing, thinking it the safest option, and pushed it open, hiding in the hallway as it flew into the room silently, illuminating the dark space with the light from the hall. Sora slowly ducked her head in, and saw what she had expected: within the room steel bars had been placed from floor to ceiling in the middle of the room, with a locked caged door installed in the middle. A red shape lay behind the bars of the cage, breathing slowly.

"Hello...?" Sora spoke quietly into the room, trying to gain the attention of the prisoner, who didn't hear her. "Hello?" She said again, this time louder. The creature, a small red and blue -striped mammalian finally heard her, and turned its head to see her standing in the doorway.

"Who are you human?" It asked coarsely, the creature's throat parched.

"My name's Sora. I'm with a resistance group. Are you being held prisoner here?"

"No, I'm sleeping behind these bars because I can't control my snacking," He snapped, "Sorry that was rude of me." He hopped to his feet, all four paws, and walked over to the steel bars. "My name is Erin, the Elecmon, have you come to rescue us?"

"I've never heard of a Digimon with a first name before." Sora said inquisitively.

"Many Elecmon inhabit this village, or we used to, but back then first names were important. Now are you going to let me out?"

"How do I know you're not really from the SGR, and you're just waiting for me to let you out so you can jump me?"

"Well, if I was, why would I have bothered with locking myself up here in the first place? Besides, you woke me up, remember?"

"I suppose you're right, but I don't have the key. How can I let you out?" Sora inquired.

"Henry's forces have been making us do dirty work during the day, mostly bringing him digi-eggs for inspection. When they bring us back at night, I've seen the guard retrieve the key from the kitchen, though I don't know where exactly."

"Okay, I'll go look for it, just don't do anything fishy while I'm gone." She warned.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Elecmon said sarcastically, eyeing his cage.

Sora shuffled downstairs, slipped her shoes back on, and walked to the kitchen. It was simple: an old white fridge and sink next to a wooden cabinet, with two wooden cabinets suspended above the sink. A stove and another cabinet were on the other wall. Sora rifled through the cabinets and drawers, finding no key, so moved on to the space under the sink. Still finding no key, she checked the refrigerator, opened all of the brandless containers of food, and still found nothing. Finally, she opened the freezer, and found the keys resting in the far back, coated in ice shards. Sora pulled them out, wiped them off, and returned upstairs.

"You're back!" The Elecmon cheered, "And with shoes this time. I was wondering how you got here in a pair of socks as white as those." Sora rolled her eyes and tried each key on the chain until she found the correct one, then unlocked the door and let the Elecmon out. "Great, now, let's release my brethren. Other Elecmon are locked in these other rooms, along with another prisoner brought in by Henry."

"Wait, let me go check on my partner first, make sure he's doing okay out there." Sora replied.

"Your partner?" Elecmon asked, confused.

"Yeah, he's a Reppamon, and right now he's fighting with some other resistance forces against what's left of the SGR stationed here."

"Your Digimon partner... Are you a Digidestined?" Elecmon asked excitedly.

"Yes, I am. But not like Kairo or Henry. My friends and I are trying to stop them from taking over this world."

"Amazing! I never thought I'd meet a real live Digidestined before. I never met the ones who fought here four years ago, although Primary Village wasn't very intact back then, but I-"

"Please, Erin," Sora stopped him, "Here, you free your friends and I'll go check on my partner." She handed him the keychain and ran back downstairs to the front door. She opened it and peered outside, relieved to see Reppamon and the other resistance forces standing in a circle a short way down the road. "Reppamon!" She called to her partner. The horse looked up and saw her, then smiled and came galloping over to her.

"Sora, great news, we've repelled the assault and drove the attacking Digimon out of the city. The rest of the squad is sweeping the streets and buildings now looking for stragglers."

"Speaking of buildings, come in here and see what I've found." She nodded her head inside. Reppamon warily agreed, then degenerated so he could fit inside, and hopped up on Sora's shoulder.

"What is it Sora?" Kudamon inquired as his partner marched up the stairs.

"I found a group of imprisoned Elecmon up here by Henry." She explained.

"Gomamon told me the Elecmon are the caretakers of Primary Village," Kudamon noted as they arrived at the top floor, where all the doors were now open. Sora walked down the hallway, past five empty rooms, to the last door on the right, where four Elecmon were gathered by another cage.

"Sora, you're back." Erin noted. "I've freed all my brothers, as you can see, now all that's left is this poor Swanmon locked up here."

"Swanmon?" Sora and Kudamon said in surprise as one of the Elecmon opened the door. Sora pushed past the group into the cage and saw the majestic bird Digimon lying unconscious on a bed. "Hey, wake up." She shook the bird awake as the Elecmon filed into the prison cell to join her. The Digimon slowly opened her eyes to gaze upon Sora.

"Sora, Kudamon?" Swanmon pushed herself up to her feet, squawking in glee. "Where did you to come from?" She asked happily as she hugged both of them.

"It's a long story," Kudamon answered, "But the good news is we've destroyed the major dark spires on this island, so Guilmon and I can digivolve, and the only Digimon under Henry's command are the ones that are serving him willingly, which can't be too many right now."

"How wonderful!" Swanmon cheered. "Please, may we go outside? I've been stuffed inside this cell for far too long." Erin then led the way out of the room and downstairs, opening the front door and stepping into the night air, where the other five soldiers waited for them. Kudamon quickly explained the new arrivals, calming the tense warriors.

"What happened to you Swanmon?" Sora asked. "The last time we saw you was at Puppetmon's castle."

"Yes, well after that I was captured along with the others by a platoon of armor Digimon who had followed Shurimon to our location. They left me in a prison in the desert for quite some time, and then brought me here so that I could tell Henry how to do something that I couldn't tell him how to do."

"What couldn't you tell him?" Kudamon asked wearily.

"How to destroy the digi-eggs of the Royal Knights." Swanmon answered.

* * *

Erin led Sora, Kudamon, and Swanmon out of the village and into the digi-egg fields. The others had gone to check the rest of the town for prisoners and lingering enemy combatants. Erin brought them to a large wooden warehouse standing in the middle of the digi-egg field. They broke inside and he led them to the upper floor, where nine digi-eggs sat in hay filled crates.

"These are the digi-eggs of the Royal Knights." Erin introduced. "Henry's been working of finding them all. So far, he's been able to find of the ones that were partnered with the original Digidestined as well as Leopardmon's, but he's been unsuccessful with the others."

"So why can't he destroy them?" Sora asked. "Are the shells extra strong or something?"

"It's not that," Swanmon answered, striding weakly over to the eggs. She pretended to be okay, but Sora could see the limp in her step; Henry must have beaten her in an attempt to get his answers. "The eggs are protected by their bond with each other." Swanmon picked up one of the eggs and wrapped it in her wing tips. "They can't be broken unless the unity of the Royal Knights is broken." Then she pecked at the egg with her sharp beak. There was a whooshing sound and her head was thrown back, the egg intact and secure in her wings.

"And how do you do that?" Kudamon asked.

"That's what Henry wanted to know." Swanmon continued as she placed the egg back in its place. "So he brought me here. But I wouldn't tell him. Fortunately you all arrived before he could interrogate me further."

"So you're the only one who knows how to break the Royal Knight's digi-eggs?" Sora asked.

"No, I'm just the only one alive."

**Quasi-Gulag**

**Reboot Island**

**10:25 P.M**

"Everybody get out of here!" Lekismon ordered as she landed in the courtyard with Coronamon. "MadLeomon will be here any second!" The Digimon in the courtyard reacted quickly, stumbling out of the open space and into the lower levels of the fortress, the wounded being carried to safety by the others.

"Hey!" Iori dashed out into the courtyard to meet the two. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry Iori," Lekismon sighed, "MadLeomon was just too powerful. I didn't know an ultimate could be that strong."

"They're not supposed to be," Prairiemon ran to the group to join the conversation, "Something about MadLeomon is off, his power is being amplified somehow."

"So what do we do now?" Iori asked.

"What do we do?" Prairiemon repeated sarcastically. "We hide!" He then ran off, towards a doorway into the fortress.

"Hey! Come back here you coward!" Coronamon called after him. "Pansy…" He mumbled.

"We need to get out of here," Lekimon said, "It won't take but seconds for MadLeomon to get through that door."

"No!" Iori protested, then turned to the doorway he had just run out of, "There has to be a way to stop him!" He ran back for the doorway, which only led up the tower and to the rampart walkways.

"Iori, where are you going?" Coronamon exclaimed, and started to run after him, but just then the doors leading outside burst open, flying off their hinges and crashing into the far walls.

"Jeri, move! Lekismon snatched her partner and Coronamon off of the ground and fled into the nearest doorway, depositing them safely in the shadows.

"I know you're here rabbit!" MadLeomon barked as he angrily strode into the courtyard, "I know your smell: it's all over this place," He eyed each of the doorways leading into the fortress, "and it's fresh."

"We must go out there and fight him Lekismon," Coronamon hissed as he and the champion peered out of the doorway, watching MadLeomon.

"We no longer can Coronamon," She replied, "That Digimon's power increases with his anger, and he is quite frustrated right now. It would be suicide."

"If we stay in here he'll find us anyway, at least out there we have maneuverability and a fighting chance, and Jeri will be in less danger."

"Come out now you two, before I get even angrier!" MadLeomon bellowed, stopping Lekismon before she could reply.

"I hate it when you're right." Lekismon sighed. "Alright then, I will go out and distract him while you climb up to the ramparts and attack from above when his back is turned." Lekismon nodded to him, and the lion ran off towards the nearest ladder. "Jeri, go hide inside the fortress, I don't want him finding you in here after I come out."

"No way Lekismon, I won't leave you alone. You might need me." Jeri shook her head furiously.

"Fine, but keep safe. Go up to the ramparts and stay hidden from MadLeomon's sight."

"Okay, I will." Jeri whispered, and then headed off after Coronamon.

"Come out now or I will smash this place to pieces until I find you!" MadLeomon roared, the veins in this temple throbbing.

"I'm right here." Lekismon hopped out into the center of the courtyard, about 50 feet from where MadLeomon stood.

"You've made things very complicated for me," MadLeomon growled, suppressing his rage, "What you've done to Reboot, to Shadowtech, it's disrupted my perfect system, and I won't stand for it!" MadLeomon couldn't contain himself any longer. He dropped down on all fours and galloped towards Lekismon.

"I guess we're done with the small talk then." Lekismon sighed, and leaped over MadLeomon as he charged at her. The lion threw his arm up and tried to grab her foot, but Lekismon rolled into a ball and evaded capture, then dropped to the ground and spun-kick MadLeomon in the back before he could turn around to face her. Unprepared, the ultimate took the full force of the kick, and fell face-first into the ground. He quickly jumped back up and turned to face Lekismon, but she was gone.

"Where are you!" MadLeomon bellowed, twisting his head in all directions.

"For a cat you're not very quick on your feet are you?" Lekismon laughed from behind him. MadLeomon swung around and spotted her standing at the edge of the courtyard near one of the walls.

"Agh!" MadLeomon bolted towards her. Lekismon just stood there, plainly drawing the monster into a trap, but he didn't care. He ran for the wall, expecting her to dart out of the way at the last second. He would be ready and roll when he got close, so he could respond to her move.

Before he could get near her, however, a red blur shot off of the top of the wall and smashed into him, a flurry of claws tearing into his face.

Iori watched his partner leap off the railing and fly into MadLeomon, attacking him viciously. The boy watched steadily, studying MadLeomon's every move. The feline flung his partner off of his face and into Lekismon, who caught the rookie and darted away with him in his arms. MadLeomon gave chase, and Iori followed him, running down the walkway to keep his target in site.

As he chased from behind, Iori saw a slight twitch in MadLeomon's arm, so slight that if he wasn't watching so closely he would have never noticed it. And as the Digimon's mane swept over his back, exposing his shoulder, Iori saw the reason why. Embedded next to his shoulder blade was a black gear, limiting his movement.

"What?" Iori gasped as he slowed down, confused by what he had just seen. Before he could contemplate it any further, however, MadLeomon caught up with Lekismon and Coronamon, punching the rabbit in the back and sending her stumbling into the ground. Coronamon rolled out of her arms and jumped at MadLeomon, but this time the monster was ready. He swiped the rookie away and knocked him into the wall.

"Oh no!" Iori exclaimed in horror. Lekismon tried to get up quickly, but MadLeomon was too close. He grabbed her neck and slammed her into the wall.

"Lekismon!" Iori heard Jeri squeal from down the walkway. He ran over to her as she helplessly watched her partner being pounded into the wall below her.

"Jeri," Iori called to her as he neared. "Jeri, be quiet or he'll hear you."

"He's beating them Iori, what can we do?" She cried. Iori looked down at the fight, flinching every time Lekismon was slammed into the wall.

"I know what to do." Iori said softly. He then climbed up onto the railing, poised to jump.

"What are you doing?" Jeri squealed. "Iori no, you can't go down there, he'll kill you!"

"No he won't." Iori said with determination.

"How do you figure?"

"I think I've found his weak spot."

"You think, you think you've found it and you're just going to jump in there? What if you're wrong?"

"Well then I guess I'll find out once I'm down there." Iori jumped off, and landed on MadLeomon's shoulders. The ultimate jerked away from the wall in response, but Iori was quick. He latched onto the black gear and with his feet pushed against the back of the monster and began to pull on the dark device.

"Agh!" MadLeomon roared painfully. "What are you doing?" He struggled to grab at the boy on his back, but Iori was out of reach of his arms, letting him pull at the black gear. However the lion kept struggling, swinging from side to side in an attempt to throw the boy off. Iori couldn't hold much longer, and eventually his legs slipped and he fell down the monster's back, desperately clinging to the gear so that he would not fall off. Then it moved. Iori's weight pulled the cog he was latched onto down, rotating the wheel. Iori was surprised and let go when the gear kept moving and pushed the cog into the lion's flesh.

"Iori!" Coronamon slipped between MadLeomon's legs, grabbed his partner's arm and pulled him away. "What were you thinking!"

"Look!" Iori's attention was turned to MadLeomon, who was now thrashing about and stumbling back into the courtyard.

"What did you do to him?" Coronamon inquired.

"There was a black gear in his back," Iori explained, "I tried to pull it out, but instead it started spinning. I think it's hurting him."

"No, it's doing no such thing." Lekismon coughed as she struggled to stand up. Iori and Coronamon ran over to help her, supporting her weight by wrapping her arms around their shoulders.

"What did you mean by that sister?" Coronamon asked nervously.

"Look at the gear, how fast its spinning," She nodded at the blue lion, who was busy grasping his head in his massive paws. "The gear, it's spinning extraordinarily fast, don't you think?" Iori and Coronamon eyed the gear and saw that she was right: the black gear was spinning as if it was being controlled. "Izzy told us of an enemy he and Kari once faced on File Island, a DarkTyrannomon with ten black gears embedded in his body, and that once they started turning he became so powerful that he couldn't be stopped until every gear was blasted out of him."

"So you mean...?" It dawned on Iori what he had just done.

"Oh dear, you've gotten us into quite a bit of trouble my partner." Coronamon sighed.

"I just thought, I mean, it seemed like there was a way to stop him, I had to find out." Iori stuttered.

"No one's blaming you Iori." Lekismon reassured him.

"To hell with that you've killed us!" Coronamon clutched his partner's arm and began shaking him. "Damn you and your curiosity Iori Hida!"

"Agh!" MadLeomon roared one last time, and then turned back to see the three digidestined, his original focus returning.

"Oh dear," Coronamon whimpered.

"We must strike now before he gets any closer to Iori!" Lekismon exclaimed, and then dashed towards their enemy.

**"Coronamon digivolve to... Firamon!"** Firamon jumped out of the light and ran off towards MadLeomon. "Iori, hide!"

"I'm sorry!" He called out to his partner. "I didn't mean to!"

"Just giving you a hard time my friend!" Firamon called back.

"I just wanted to find a way..." He sighed. He watched Lekismon and Firamon lead MadLeomon away from the wall, avoiding his attacks, which were faster and more ferocious than before. Only then did he finally notice the faint light shining from beneath his shirt. "Huh?" He pulled out his crest, which was shining brilliantly. "My... curiousity...?" He realized.

"I! Am! Going! To! Kill! You!" MadLeomon yelled with every punch at Firamon, who was fast enough only to narrowly avoid each strike by the rampaging demon.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Firamon jabbed. MadLeomon roared with rage at his comment and smashed the ground with both fists, crumbling the ground beneath him. "Oh there I go with my mouth again getting me into trouble."

"Die!" MadLeomon ran incredibly fast towards Firamon, who turned and ran fruitlessly, as MadLeomon was now much faster.

"Hiya!" Lekismon appeared at MadLeomon's side and kicked him in the gut, but MadLeomon just rolled away to absorb the blow and grabbed both of Lekismon's legs with one hand, then slammed her into the ground.

"No!" Firamon jumped at MadLeomon, but the demon snatched the champion out of the air and pinned him on the ground.

"I warned you..." MadLeomon hissed with a bloodthirsty grin, then pulled back his arm, outstretching his claws.

"Firamon, here!" Iori yelled from the sidelines, distracting MadLeomon long enough for Firamon to swipe at his enemy's arm and free himself.

"Iori go!" He looked up at his partner, but all he saw was a bright light streaming through the air towards him.

**"Firamon digivolve to..."** Once the light hit Firamon, he began his metamorphosis into ultimate. His spine bent, his pelvis and skull realigned, letting him stand upright. His mane grew so much it hung down by his waist, and his front paws cracked and shifted until hands formed. The metal bindings on his ankles and waist broke off as he grew, his wings disappeared, and metal pads materialized on his shoulders. Finally, he broke free of the cocoon of light, and the red lion stood face to face against his blue opponent. **"Flaremon!"**

**Odaiba, Tokyo Japan**

**10:20 P.M**

"This way…" Izzy whispered, motioning the others to follow him. Joe, Gomamon, J.P., and Gaomon darted out of the alleyway and ran across the street, joining Izzy as he stood flat against a wall at the corner of the building. They had been moving from street to street, following the signal from the other digivice while avoiding enemy patrols. "The signal is only a block away." He nodded his head sideways, down the sidewalk around the corner.

"Then let's go, before it starts moving again." J.P. urged. Izzy took another glance around the side of the building, then, thinking it safe, motioned for the group to start moving. Before they could, however, they heard an explosion coming from the direction they were about to go.

"Oh no!" Joe broke out of cover and ran down the sidewalk towards the sound, while Gomamon ran at his heels.

"Joe wait!" Izzy ran after him, while J.P. and Gaomon followed.

"No time, they could be in danger!" Joe exclaimed as they ran. The group moved quickly and reached the end of the block within the minute. Joe slowed down as they neared, checking his digivice to find the precise location of the other Digidestined. Seeing that they were right around the bend, Joe stopped and backed into the wall, then peered around the corner.

"Who is it Joe?" Izzy whispered as he stopped behind the boy and hugged the wall.

"I… don't know." He whispered.

"What?" Izzy replied, but Joe was too preoccupied watching the scene around the corner. Izzy decided to see for himself and scooted next to Joe, looking around the corner. Two Knightmon were standing over a young boy, having broken through the windows of the first floor of the building upon seeing him walk by from inside the building. The child, no more than 12, had short and spiky brown hair, wore khaki shorts and a blue sweater, with a blue vest over it. A digivice, a newer model with the same design as J.P.'s, was clipped to his pocket. "He's… new." Izzy gaped.

"I'm going to help him." Joe proclaimed, then grabbed his digivice out of his pocket. "Gomamon, let's go."

"Right." Gomamon nodded, preparing for battle.

"V-Headbutt!" A voice screamed into the air. The Knightmon turned their heads in surprise as a Veemon appeared out of nowhere and slammed his forehead into the monster's helmet, with enough force to knock him into his partner, throwing them both to the ground.

"Veemon, let's go!" The boy jumped to his feet and grabbed the rookie's arms, and then the both of them ran as fast as they could out of the street, into the nearest alley.

"Wait!" Izzy called, and then cringed when he realized what he had done. The two Knightmon were standing back up and spotted Izzy's head poking out from behind the side of the building.

"Gomamon and I will handle these two. Izzy, you and J.P. go after that kid." Joe ordered. Izzy agreed, and immediately took off towards the alleyway the boy and the Veemon had disappeared into. J.P. began to argue, but Joe shot him a dirty look, so J.P. stopped talking and followed Izzy with Gaomon at his side.

"Hey!" The Knightmon started after them, but Gomamon jumped in front of them and cut them off.

"Where do you think you're going?" Gomamon smiled. The two Knightmon were confused at the presence of the new Digimon, but drew their swords nevertheless, ready to fight.

"**Gomamon, warp digivolve to…!"**

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**11:00 P.M**

"She called them Knightmon." Susumu spoke. He and his son Tai were sitting against the back wall of the convention center. Kari and Yuuki had gone off to check on a friend of the family who had been captured as well.

"What's that dad?" Tai looked up at his father, who was staring aimlessly out in the crowd.

"Your sister, she called the monsters who grabbed us Knightmon." He replied. 'She knew their names."

"I think she just meant-"

"You know what they are too, don't you?" He asked, interrupting Tai's lie. "You two were talking about digivices, what are those?"

"Dad, I…?"

"Come on son, I know you know what's going on, what these things are, and what they're doing here."

"Well, as to what they're doing here, I have no clue." Tai admitted, realizing his father wouldn't be fooled. "But yeah, I know what they are, and where they come from."

"How?" Susumu asked.

"Well, do you remember that summer a few years back, when Kari and I disappeared for a day? We told you that we had gotten lost in the city, and had just found our way back to Odaiba when you'd found us."

"I always thought that story was a little suspicious. I was just so glad to have you two back, I tried to ignore it. So what really happened?"

"Tai!" Kari returned with her mother, gaining Tai's attention.

"What's wrong?" Tai asked.

"There's someone coming." She told him. "I heard two of the Knightmon talking. They say their leader will be here soon."

"Well, I guess we'll finally know who we're dealing with then." Tai replied.

"What are you two talking about?" Yuuki inquired.

"They know what these things are Yuuki," Susumu told her.

"Wait, they know what, how?" Yuuki inquired. They kept talking, asking Kari what was happening, but Tai was no longer paying attention. The door up on the catwalk had opened, and a group of Digimon entered. Three Knightmon led the way, followed by a new Digimon, tall and humanlike, coated in silver. The site of the Digimon made Tai want to vomit.

"Tai, Tai!" Kari tugged at her brother's shirt sleeve, but he wasn't paying attention to her. Kari looked over to the catwalk to see what he was staring at, spotting the silver Digimon as it leaned against the catwalk, eyeing the crowd. "Who is that Tai?"

"You mean you don't recognize him?" Tai snarled, staring at the Digimon with hatred and disgust.

"No…" She studied the monster, finding only a hint of familiarity in his figure.

"Well you should."

"Who is he?"

"Etemon."


	20. The Turning Tide

**Chapter 20: The Turning Tide**

**Odaiba, Tokyo Japan**

**10:25 P.M**

"Hey, stop!"Izzy yelled to the fleeing boy. He and Junpei had given chase through the alley and into a street running along the docks. Despite Izzy's pleas, the new Digidestined hadn't stopped for him. Obviously he and the Veemon were too scared to trust anyone at the moment, especially someone with a Digimon.

"I've got an idea." Junpei spoke through gasps as the running took its toll on him. "Gaomon!" He whipped out his digivice and clicked the button, unleashing a swirl of bright light that surrounded Gaomon. His evolution burst from the light, landing on four paws. His champion form was a pure wolf, his back as high as his partner's head.**"Gaogamon!" **Junpei jumped onto the wolf's back, which lunged forward to intercept their target.

"Be careful! Don't hurt him!" Izzy warned.

"I won't. Jeez, just relax." Junpei grumbled in return. Gaogamon quickly intercepted the fleeing pair, jumping in front of them as they attempted to duck behind a pile of boxes sitting under a crane. The brown haired boy gasped in fear, then turned to run the other way. Veemon jumped to attack, but the boy grabbed his partner's arm and took off before the rookie could do anything.

"Please stop!" Izzy arrived in front of the boy, startling him. "We're not here to hurt you, I promise. We're friends."

"Right, friends with more monsters like the ones who've been attacking me all day?" He growled sarcastically.

"Yeah!" The Veemon snapped in agreement.

"Well you've got one too." Izzy tried to reason. "That Veemon there is a Digimon, just like Gaogamon. We're the good guys; we're Digidestined, just like you."

"Did he just call us the good guys?" Junpei asked his partner.

"I don't know." Gaogamon half grunted.

"What's a... Digidestined?" The boy inquired.

"Just calm down and I'll tell you everything you want to know." Izzy replied. "All you have to do is come with us. Trust me, in our company is the safest place to be right now."

"Ugh!" A painful grunt echoed through the air. Then a building crumbled as Zudomon was thrown through it and crashed into the street near Izzy and Junpei.

"We've got trouble!" Joe cried as he came fleeing out into the street.

"What happened?" Izzy bellowed. A roar reverberating between the buildings was his answer. A giant red Chinese dragon came slithering into the street from the other side, gold horns protruding from the sides of his head and holding green and orange orbs in his claws.

"What is that!" The new Digidestined cried.

"It's a Hisyarumon!" Joe warned as he collected his now rookie partner and rejoined the group. "It's extremely powerful..." Joe gasped heavily as he arrived, having run at full speed to escape the dragon. "It said it was... a deva.

"What the hell is a deva?" Junpei asked.

"I don't believe it," Izzy gasped, "He's one of the guardians of the digital gate, the portal between the human and digital worlds, but he's supposed to be one of the good guys." The Hisyarumon spotted the group and came barreling towards them.

"Looks like someone forgot to tell him that: Gaogamon now!" Junpei snapped.

**"Gaogamon digivolve to... MachGaogamon! **The cyborg wolf burst out of the sphere of light, now the same size as the deva.

"Let's do this," MachGaogamon chuckled, cracking his knuckles. The dragon hissed its disdain, then flew towards the blue wolf.

"Gaoga Tornado!" Gaogamon shot forward and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks at the dragon, who responded by dodging each blow, wrapping his body around the wolf in the process.

"Garuma Wheel!" The dragon opened his mouth wide and prepared a blast of energy right at MachGaogamon's face, but the wolf had other plans. He fired up his engines and shot into the sky, taking his enemy with him, where he would have more maneuverability and an advantage over his serpent-like opponent.

"I'll stay here and wait for MachGaogamon to finish this guy. You all head out and find your friends." Junpei told the others.

"Wait, are you volunteering to do something helpful by yourself?" Izzy inquired. "And here I thought you were a heartless killing machine just like Henry and Kairo."

"Would you stop that?" Junpei growled, "This is my city too you know, and the last thing I want is to see it destroyed by these monsters."

"We're sorry," Joe spoke for everyone. "Thanks, now after you're done follow the digivice signal so you can find us."

"Do what we've been doing, got it." Junpei quipped as Joe and Izzy ran off towards the source of Tai and Kari's digivice signals, with the young boy and his Veemon partner cautiously following.

**Primary Village**

**File Island**

**10:30 P.M**

Sora sat on a couch in the Elecmons' living room. Erin was sitting next to her, flipping through channels on the television. She had found it interesting that Digimon had television broadcasts coming in from the human world. The digital world was so isolated physically from the earth that Sora had a hard time contemplating live broadcasts traveling so easily.

Though when Sora really thought about it, having human television here made sense. The whole digital world was shaped by data streaming in from the data streams that lead from the human to the digital world, the same way Sora had arrived there. Digital television was common on earth, why would it be so strange in the digital world?

A pair of bunny ear antenna, which actually received digital signals, provided an air of simplicity to the system that helped her accept it. Erin could only flip through channels that he received via the antenna, which came from the data streams, and not through any sort of cable or Satellite Company in the digital world.

"Sora," Reppamon stuck his head into the door, calling her outside, "We're ready." She had been waiting inside with Erin while Reppamon, Swanmon, and the other armor Digimon discussed their next move. Sora didn't want to be excluded from anything important, but she really didn't feel like standing in a circle talking about things that could just as easily be settled without her, so she decided to relax inside and have Reppamon call her when they were done.

"Coming..." She grunted as she pushed off of the couch. Erin asked her if he should come to, but she told him she would fill him and the other Elecmon in when she got back, so he stayed on the couch and kept flipping through channels as Sora stepped outside.

"So what's the plan?" She asked the group.

"Well, with this village secure, we don't want to abandon it and give the enemy an opportunity to return and take it back." Reppamon explained. "We've decided it would be best if we split into two groups. You, Swanmon, and I will head up the mountain to regroup with Takato and provide backup to whatever is going on up there. One of the Elecmon has offered to go to each of the four beaches and round up the rest of our soldiers and bring them back here to regroup. The rest of the team will stay here and keep the village safe."

"Will it be enough, just the two of you," Sora looked at Reppamon and Swanmon, "Not that I don't trust you or anything but what if it's more than you can handle up there?"

"Elecmon is going to send two of the beach teams up the mountain as well, while sending the rest to Primary Village." One of the armor Digimon explained.

"Well then, sounds like a plan." Sora nodded. "We might as well go now then, no use lollygagging."

"My thoughts exactly." Reppamon nodded, and motioned for her to get on his back.

"Just let me go tell Erin what the plan is, I promised him I would." Sora said. Reppamon nodded and Sora rushed back inside to tell her friend what was happening.

"Hey Erin..." She called the Elecmon once inside, but quickly became distracted by the television, which was playing a news report out of Tokyo.

"No way." She gasped.

**Infinity Mountain**

**File Island**

**10:30 P.M**

"I don't think so!"WarGrowlmon drove the side of his arm into Cyberdramon, tossing him into the air, away from Shurimon and Halsemon and saving them from the ultimate's attack.

"Wow, impeccable timing," Shurimon coughed, holding his gut in an arm as Halsemon pushed him to his feet, "I would have sworn that was the end of me."

"Are you two okay?" WarGrowlmon asked with concern as he crouched over his wounded comrades.

"It's nothing a few weeks in an intensive care hospital wing won't cure." Halsemon tried to joke as she and her brother limped away from the battlefield. "I guess we'll leave the crazy dramon to you." She sighed in relief.

"Good luck sir." Shurimon grunted. "You'll need it."

"No I won't, not anymore." WarGrowlmon snarled, looking in the direction of Cyberdramon, who was hovering in the air, preparing a counter attack.

"Deslolation Claw!" Cyberdramon roared, his claws vibrating with a brilliant light.

"Atomic Blaster!" The gun ports on WarGrowlmon's chest shone brightly and fired an intense red energy blast at Cyberdramon, who unleashed his wave attack at the same time. The two energies clashed in mid-air, canceling each other out and crackling into nothingness. Cyberdramon screeched in anger and zoomed through the air, flying towards WarGrowlmon like a missile. WarGrowlmon prepared himself, then once Cyberdramon reached him snatched the monster out of the air with his claws and threw the dramon into the ground using Cyberdramon'sown momentum.

"Atomic Blaster!" WarGrowlmon fired a double energy blast into the hole Cyberdramon had just created, blowing a larger crater into the mountain and sending Cyberdramon soaring into the air. WarGrowlmon then punched the creature as he flew, but the dramon was more aware than WarGrowlmon realized and grabbed his claw when the giant dinosaur made contact, pulling his arm to the ground and flipping WarGrowlmon over his shoulder. The high-tech dinosaur crashed into the crater he had just formed, destroying the integrity of the rock and shattering the mountain even further. Cyberdramon laughed triumphantly as he stood over the crater, but was soon cut off as WarGrowlmon burst forth from the crater with rage in his eyes."

"Nice try!" The monster bellowed, his voice powerful enough to rumble the mountain but still young and raspy, Guilmon recognizable deep within." Cyberdramon gaped at the red giant, who was seemingly unscathed, while he had tired of the battle quickly. Caught off guard, Cyberdramon jumped back as WarGrowlmon stabbed his claws into the earth just in front of him, then did it again with the other arm as Cyberdramon continually jumped back to avoid the deadly talons. WarGrowlmon continued this assault until his new adrenaline boost ended, and he stopped to take a breath. Cyberdramon took this chance to fly behind WarGrowlmon. The monster tried to turn around, but being so much larger and slower than Cyberdramon, was sent sprawling into the earth by a kick to his back, shaking the ground below."

"Had enough?" Cyberdramon barked, clearly tired of this game. Though he enjoyed tough opponents, WarGrowlmon wasn't a true match for him. He was operating off new digivolution energy, which Cyberdramon thought of as a cheap and temporary power boost that showed no real skill. WarGrowlmon wasn't done though, and used his gunports to blast himself off of the ground and return to the earth on his feet, facing Cyberdramon. But the dramon moved fast, and shot towards WarGrowlmon's face and sent an uppercut into his chin before he could realize what was happening. WarGrowlmon flew backwards, caught in the force of the strike.

"Perfect." Cyberdramon smiled, knowing he now had the perfect opening to go in for the kill and end the tiring battle. He dove for WarGrowlmon's stomach with arms pulled back, prepared to drive his claws into the monster's gut. But he never reached it. Instead, he was pulled back into the air by the whip protruding from WarGrowlmon's back and flung into the earth. Cyberdramon crashed into the mountain just below WarGrowlmon, who was now barreling towards him with a full body tackle, thanks to Cyberdramon's previous blow to his chin. Before the red dragon crashed down upon him, Cyberdramon saw the whipcord extending from the back of his enemy's armor, and cursed himself for underestimating the juvenile ultimate's abilities.

**Quasi-Gulag**

**Reboot Island**

**10:40 P.M**

Flaremon and MadLeomon circled each other, staring each other down as they kept the same distance and pace in response to the other one's movements. The two lion's mirrored each other; one light, one dark. MadLeomon's knuckles dragged on the ground, creating new scars on his already stitched and blue skin, his ragged black mane clinging to his body from the sweat. Flaremon stood tall, his back straight, his red fur well groomed and his golden mane flowing gracefully in the air.

"It's time to put an end to this." Flaremon barked at the blue lion as he poised to attack, for circling was getting nowhere."

"My thoughts exactly." MadLeomon growled, and then dropped his back low and parallel to the ground, ready to strike. As he did so Flaremon could see the black gear spinning between his shoulder blades. Flaremon knew the only sure way to beat him was to take out the black gears within him, otherwise MadLeomon's power would overwhelm Flaremon's, even with the boost of new digivolution energy.

MadLeomon roared ferociously, and then ran towards Flaremon with a burst of black gear empowered speed. Flaremon dropped down to all fours as well and bolted for the other lion. They ran for each other, seemingly about to crash. MadLeomon broke off course however, and leaped into the air, ready to pounce on Flaremon's back. The red lion took advantage of his opponent's mistake, reared onto his hind legs while still running, and lunged forward, punching MadLeomon in the stomach. The blue lion dropped out of the air, falling on his back, while Flaremon landed on his feet a few yards away. MadLeomon quickly jumped up, unfazed by the attack, and rushed the other Digimon. Flaremon slid to the side at the last second and grabbed MadLeomon's shoulder as he passed, pulling him back and kneeing him in the spine.

MadLeomon shook it off with a wincing smile and spun around with a fist aimed for Flaremon, who blocked with one arm, then with the other stabbed MadLeomon in the stomach, directly below where the black gear was spinning. Flaremon squeezed until his claws hit something solid, then pulled on it as hard as he could, ripping the black gear out of MadLeomon's chest, who was too stunned by the stabbing to respond. The monster bellowed in pain, clutching the wound as Flaremon shoved him away, then tossed the black gear onto the ground, where the fragile device exploded in a cloud of black dust.

"You'll pay for that!" MadLeomon wheezed as the wound took its toll on him. Flaremon relaxed, believing what he had done had disrupted the black gear system in MadLeomon's body, but a second later the blue lion wiped the blood off of his skin leaped Flaremon, seeming to have recovered from the blow. Flaremon tried dodge, but MadLeomon pounced on him and they both tumbled across the earth, clawing at each other. Finally they stopped rolling, MadLeomon crashing into the dirt under Flaremon. The monster used the momentum from the roll to push Flaremon off of him with his legs, then flipped over and landed on his feet.

Flaremon tumbled across the courtyard, eventually digging his claws into the earth and stopping himself. He pulled himself up and then ran for MadLeomon, whose back was turned to him. But the monster sensed his presence and turned quickly, slashing his claws across Flaremon's face. Flaremon roared painfully as the claws tore through his skin and fur, tiny rivers of blood streaming behind. He used the blow, however, to pull his arm up quickly, aiming for the wound in MadLeomon's gut. But the monster wouldn't be fooled twice. He pulled his claws out of Flaremon's face and snatched the arm out of the air, digging his claws into Flaremon's arm, and pulled the wounded lion in a circle around his body, building momentum. MadLeomon then flipped Flaremon over his shoulder and pounded his face into the ground, jumping on the red lion's back as he landed and snapping his arm against his back.

"Feel accomplished?" MadLeomon hissed, barely weathered by the fight that was leaving Flaremon exhausted. After his adrenaline and black gear boost died down MadLeomon knew he would drop from exhaustion, but not before he eliminated the inferior ultimate under him, as well as the Lekismon and the two humans huddled by the far wall. "I warned you this would happen. You should have listened!" MadLeomon raised his arm and outstretched his claws, but before he could strike Flaremon kicked his leg back and hit the monster's stomach, where he had been stabbed previously. MadLeomon grunted in pain and fell to the ground on his chest. The low blow momentarily stunned him. Flaremon quickly jumped up and grabbed the exposed black gear on his enemy's back, then using his foot as leverage against the monster pulled until the gear came free, then tossed it into the air where it dissipated into black dust.

"Ayah!" MadLeomon squirmed, holding his gut and trying to grab at the spot on his back where the black gear had been. Flaremon saw an opportunity he wouldn't get again, and stepped on the monster's stomach as he rolled around. Flaremon dropped his knee down on the other Digimon's chest, pinning him down. MadLeomon started squirming harder, realizing he was pinned, but it was too late. Flaremon threw his arm back, outstretched his claws, and ripped out the blue lion's jugular vein.

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**11:03 P.M**

"Etemon?" Kari gasped. "That's impossible." She stared at the monster on the catwalk, plainly seeing the resemblance. The Digimon had the same monkey-like figure, a plush Monzaemon clipped to his hip (although this one was a WaruMonzaeomon), and black sunglasses covering his eyes. But this monster was completely silver, whereas the Etemon she remembered wore a weathered yellow jumpsuit. "He looks a lot different, are you sure?"

"He's digivolved Kari." Tai replied, never taking his eyes off of the monkey. "He's stronger now, but I know it's him."

"You know who that is son?" Susumu glanced nervously at the silver figure standing on the catwalk, resting his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Yeah dad," Tai replied, "He's a monster who slaughtered his own people for trying to help us."

"How do you know it's him?" Kari inquired. "And even if it is an evolved Etemon, how do you know it's the same one?"

"An Etemon that hates humans so much he travels to Earth to destroy Tokyo?" Tai gave his sister an obvious glance. "Besides," He looked back to Etemon, "He recognizes me."

"Oh, no." Kari looked over at Etemon and gasped, realizing that he was staring right at Tai.

"Mom, Dad, I need you two to take Kari and go hide in the crowd." Tai muttered to his parents.

"What?" Susumu gasped.

"Absolutely not!" Yuuki hissed, "If that monster's after you there's no way I'll leave you here alone!"

"Mom, please," He tried to reassure her, all the while keeping eye contact with Etemon, "I promise you he's too strong for you to handle, you'll only be in danger near him, especially if he realizes that you're my parents. He knows Kari too but I don't think he realizes she's here yet. The three of you need to get away before he discovers you."

"But son…" Susumu argued.

"Dad, I promise nothing bad will happen to me, but if you don't go now I can't promise he won't do something to you to try and hurt me. I don't want you, Mom, or Kari getting hurt because of a crazy monkey's grudge against me."

Susumu thought for a minute. "Okay then." His father sighed reluctantly.

"But Susumu-!" Yuuki protested.

"Yuuki, please," He calmed his wife; "Tai obviously knows how to handle this thing. I believe him if he says he'll be okay, he obviously has had experience dealing with this before. It's better that we don't get in the way, otherwise we could end up hurting him rather than helping him."

"If you really think so…" Yuuki gave in reluctantly, but she wouldn't be happy with it. "Be careful son," She ordered, holding back the urge to give Tai a hug lest Etemon see her, "Don't get hurt, okay? I swear if anything happens to you I will ground you for a month."

"Well that's helpful." Tai laughed quietly. "Don't worry Mom; I won't let him hurt me."

"Be careful Tai," Kari reiterated, "Remember, he hates your guts."

"Don't worry I remember, now go, he's coming." Tai urged. Kari and her parents looked up to see Etemon jumping down off of the catwalk, clusters of captive humans backing away in fear. They backed into the crowd as Etemon walked slowly towards Tai, backing away but staying close to their son, while keeping Kari hidden behind them so Etemon wouldn't see her.

"I don't believe it." Etemon stopped a few feet from Tai, who stood with his back straight as he glared at the mega level Digimon.

"So what are you now?" Tai replied. "SilverEtemon, MetalEtemon, TitaniumEtemon, which one?" A smile appeared in the corner of his mouth as he taunted his old enemy.

"MetalEtemon's just fine," Etemon replied, "But it won't do you any good to know my name, not now."

"How did you come back?" Tai asked. "It's only been four years since we left, and I'm sure you weren't getting much stronger while the others had Spiral Mountain up and running."

"Wouldn't you like to know where I was," Etemon scoffed, "Well as fun as this has been I didn't come here to engage in witty banter with you Kamiya."

"Then why are you here?" Tai growled. Etemon responded by smacking Tai across the face, throwing him back and knocking him onto the ground.

"Why do you think?" Etemon barked. Yuuki tried to run out and help her son, but Susumu held her back and whispered something into her ear. They couldn't help him right now.

"I don't know," Tai coughed blood, "Maybe you just got bored in the dark dimension. That is where you went, wasn't it? You are evil after all."

"You call _me _evil?" Etemon was genuinely offended. He lunged forward and grabbed Tai by his collar, then held him up so the crowd could see him. "Humans!" He bellowed, drawing the full attention of everyone in the room. "For those of you who are curious to why your precious city is now under our occupation, I would like to present to you Taichi Kamiya, one of the humans that came to my world and destroyed everything in his path! His actions and the actions of his friends have caused us to seek revenge on you and your world!"

"That's a damn lie and you know it!" Tai barked. "We saved your world from the Dark Masters. The only thing you did was to try and stop us in every way possible!"

"The Royal Knights saved my world from destruction, you lying piece of filth, and then cast you and your friends out before you could cause any more damage. But now you've come back, and are trying to conquer our world once again, and I won't stand for it." Etemon tossed Tai onto the ground as if he were a rag doll, then addressed the crowd once again. "Listen up humans, I offer you a chance to save your world," He looked down to Tai, "Something that was not offered to my people. I will take my forces and leave, but first you have to find every piece of slime that calls itself a Digidestined and bring them to me! You'll recognize them by this device they always carry with them." Etemon snatched the digivice clipped to Tai's pants and showed it to the crowd. "Or, they'll be traveling with a Digimon, a creature like myself, but they will be smaller and are traitors to their own people!"

"You won't get away with this Etemon." Tai grunted as the monkey threw the digivice back at him, having no use for it anymore.

"I don't know if you've noticed boy, but even your own people are turning against you." He smiled. Tai looked around, and saw the worried faces of the people around him, staring at him as if he were to blame for what was happening.

In a way, Tai was. He knew what he had done to Etemon was cruel. After Datamon's death he had let the darkness within him take control, morphing Greymon into SkullGreymon, who ruthlessly murdered both Etemon and his ally, Mammothmon. The darkness had later revealed itself to be Devimon reincarnated within Tai and Greymon, and had taken control of the Digimon in an attempt to escape. But it was still Tai's fault for letting that darkness escape in the first place.

"Now to set an example for all the Digidestined who attempt to meddle in our world." Etemon glared angrily down at Tai. "Get up boy!" Tai reluctantly obliged and stood back up on his feet.

"What are you going to do Etemon?" Tai asked as he wiped the blood off of his chin.

"I'm going to execute you," Etemon grinned evilly, "In front of all of your people, right now."

"Oof!" Tai tried to run, but Etemon swiped his feet out from under him.

"No!" Yuuki broke out of the crowd, unable to contain herself anymore. She ran to her son and blocked him from the evil mega.

"Mom no!" Tai protested.

"Ah, so this is your mother, eh?" Etemon chuckled. "Well perhaps I'll kill her first then!"

"Yuuki come back!" Susumu grabbed his wife's arm and pulled her away.

"Well I see the whole family is here, including little Kari, another one of the Digidestined!" Etemon glared at the girl, who confidently marched out of the crowd and joined her brother.

"Kari, come back." Susumu urged his daughter, but Kari shook her head. There was no reason to hide anymore, now that Etemon knew she was there.

"We're not afraid of you Etemon!" Kari yelled as she helped her brother to his feet. "The Digidestined will never give up! Our friends will be here any moment and when they do, they're going to destroy you!"

"Oh, is that right?" Etemon asked condescendingly. "Well I hate to break it to you Kari, but no one is coming for you. I'm afraid you and your brother are going to die, right here, right now!" He stretched his arm out and flattened his palm, which began to radiate a glowing energy.

"You should listen to my sister." Tai smirked at Etemon, who showed no reaction.

"Hammer Punch!" A blue blur shot through the air from the catwalk and struck Etemon in the back of the neck, knocking him to his knees. The metal monkey then fell to the ground on his face, stunned. The attacker, a blue and white dinosaur, dropped to the ground in front of Tai and Kari. He looked like a smaller version of Greymon with no skull helmet, but rather horns protruding out of the back of his head and snout. A blue V was embedded in his white chest.

"Who are you?" Kari asked.

"Name's Veedramon, I'm a friend." The champion Digimon nodded. "And I'm here to get you out of here."

"Our parents are in trouble too. Etemon will kill them if he has hold of them." Tai explained.

"Then we'd better leave before the brain dead monkey wakes up." Veedramon joked, and then looked back as he heard a marching sound. A group of Knightmon was headed their way, "And before these guys get here." Veedramon grabbed Tai and Kari and threw them on his back.

"Mom, Dad, come on!" Kari called to them. Susumu and Yuuki looked at each other warily, but then joined their children. Veedramon scooped them up in his arms and then turned around. The Knightmon were only a few yards away. Veedramon ran for them, surprising the group, and then jumped up at the last second, using the lead Knightmon as a stepping stone to jump up and land on the catwalk, which groaned under his weight. He then ran off towards the open door he had quietly snuck through to get inside, this time smashing through it and knocking the door off of its hinges. He followed a hallway to an open window which was too small for him and jumped out of it, smashing through the sides of the walls, and landed out in the street on his massive clawed feet.

"Veedramon, this way!" Across the street, in an alley, Izzy Izumi waved to the blue dinosaur.

"I knew Izzy would come through for us!" Tai cheered as the Digimon ran over to their friend.

"Izzy, where'd you get this guy?" Tai asked joyfully as he slid off of Veedramon's back with his sister, while the champion put Susumu and Yuuki softly on the ground.

"I'll tell you later, come on." He nodded to an open door in the alley, and ran inside.

Tai, Kari, Susumu, and Yuuki followed Veedramon in, but not before he degenerated into a Veemon, surprising Susumu and Yuuki. They then followed the short blue Digimon down the hallway and to an elevator, which was still functioning properly, as the building apparently had a backup generator installed. The group filed in, where Izzy was waiting. Upon reaching the top floor, the group exited out of the elevator and joined Joe, Gomamon, and a boy Tai and Kari didn't recognize as they sat next to a window watching the convention center.

"The Knightmon are freaking out." Joe observed. "That silver Digimon's screaming his head off too, telling them to spread out and find you. I don't think they will. They're fanning out down the road, not checking the buildings." He looked over to the newcomers. "I guess they think you're trying to get as far away from the convention center as possible."

"Joe!" Kari cheered at the sight of her friend, who she had not seen since before he recovered in the hospital, and ran up to him, squeezing him in a deep hug.

"What took you so long Izzy?" Tai playfully scolded his friend. "Etemon almost made mincemeat out of me and Kari!"

"Oh jeez, I'm so sorry my rescue plan came at an inconvenient time, maybe we just shouldn't have come at all." Izzy grunted. "Wait, did you say Etemon?"

"Yeah, he's back." Tai replied. "But I don't know how. He's stronger, a mega. He's called MetalEtemon now."

"Well this is just perfect." Izzy barked, walking off towards the window. "Not only is Tokyo being taken over by an army of Digimon, but their leader happens to be a Digimon who hate us with every fiber of his being!"

"Who's Etemon?" Joe asked.

"We ran into him on Server, when we were chasing you guys through the desert." Kari explained. "He killed a friend of ours, so Agumon had to digivolve to stop him, but something happened and Devimon took over Agumon, so Agumon digivolved wrong and became SkullGreymon, and then killed Etemon. Gatomon had to digivolve to Angewomon to stop him."

"Tai, who are these people?" Yuuki asked her son as she tried not to panic about the situation.

"Well, you should know Izzy, from the apartments." Tai nodded to Izzy, who waved half-heartedly, too focused on their amassing problems. "He's one of the original Digidestined, like me. And that over there is Joe; he's an original Digidestined too."

"Hi Mrs. Kamiya." Joe waved sincerely at the woman. It's nice to meet you."

"What's that word you keep using, Digidestined?" Yuuki asked.

"It's a little complicated," Tai explained, "But basically Me, Kari, Izzy, Joe, and a bunch of other kids were chosen for years ago to team up with Digimon partners and save their world, the digital world, from evil."

"Hey, who are you?" Kari noticed the new kid, the brown haired boy standing next to Veemon, and realized she didn't know who he was.

"Hi." He came over to her and introduced himself, holding out his hand. "My names Daisuke, but my friends call me Davis."

"Where did you get a Digimon partner from?" Tai asked, leaving his parents behind for the moment in their confusion. "I thought all the Digidestined had been chosen already."

"He's been a Digidestined Tai." Joe answered to Tai's confusion. He looked to Davis for answers.

"Well, a few weeks ago," Davis began, "I was walking home from soccer practice when this bright blue light came out of the sky and landed in my hands. Then it faded away, and I was holding what looked like a huge chicken egg with this thingy hanging off of it." He pulled out his digivice and showed it to Tai. Tai noted that it was the same model that Takato and the other new Digidestined had. "I brought it home and left it in my room, because, you know, giant chicken egg, and then today when those knights started attacking the city, it hatched into this guy." He gestured to his partner.

"The name's Veemon, but my friends call me Veemon." The blue Digimon said with a lisp as he bowed.

"You must've got your digi-egg the same time as Takato or Jeri." Tai realized. "We didn't see it happen because you were halfway across Odaiba, but you became a Digidestined too. I can't believe we missed a bright blue light flying away from us!"

"You were probably too busy focusing on Takato, Sora, and I being swallowed up by the ocean and taken to the digital world." Joe shrugged.

"I don't think they'll find us," Izzy finally re-entered the conversation, now talking about the Knightmon, "At least not for now. They're not checking any of the buildings yet. If they do we have some good hiding places set up before they can get to this floor." He walked away from the window and back to the circle of people and Digimon. "We'll stay here for the night; wait for Junpei and Yolei to find us here, before we make our next move."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Tai yawned, glad somebody else was making the decisions for once. He dropped into an office chair and leaned back with his arms hanging off of the sides, feigning sleep. "It feels like days since that SkullSatamon first attacked this morning. Wait, did you say J.P.?" Tai asked, flinging his head up.

"Argh!" Etemon punched the outside wall of the convention center, releasing his anger into the building, which trembled with his strike. "I can't believe it, he was right in front of me, and because of you incompetent fools," He yelled at a pair of Knightmon who were coming out of the convention center, who jumped at their master's anger, "A champion level Digimon knocked me out while I wasn't paying attention and escaped!" They scurried off into the streets, attempting to find the escaped Digidestined.

"Having problems?" A booming voice asked him from up high.

"Now is not the time Mammothmon!" Etemon barked at his old friend. Mammothmon, now a mega level by the name of SkullMammothmon, stood over his old friend, taking up most of the street. He was now a skeleton of his former self, with a red orb centered in his rib cage. A golden helmet covered his skull, trunk, and tusks.

"What happened?" The mega asked.

"The boy, Kamiya," Etemon answered, "And his sister, they were here. I had them, but then some Digimon came in and struck me in the back of the neck while I wasn't paying attention and helped them escape."

"Then I guess we'll just have to go find them Etemon." Mammothmon answered calmly. "Don't lose your composure, it won't help. We've got this city held shut tighter than a Babamon's eyes. There's nowhere they can go."

"You're right, I know," Etemon sighed, "It's just… it was taken away from me. I won't let it happen again."

"What was taken from you?" Mammothmon inquired.

"My revenge." Etemon replied ominously.


	21. The Path to Earth

**Chapter 21: The Path to Earth**

**Infinity Mountain**

**File Island**

**10:40 P.M**

"No!"Kairo watched helplessly as Cyberdramon was crushed under WarGrowlmon's massive body. Looking around, he realized he had lost, so he bolted, running down the mountain as fast as he could. But Shurimon was on him in an instant. The ninja shot his arm at the boy and wrapped his spring-like appendage around Kairo's legs. Shurimon pulled the boy down to his stomach and dragged him back to the rest of the group.

"Why do evil Digidestined have to be so difficult Takatomon?" Guilmon grunted as he dragged an unconscious Monodramon over to Takato and Shurimon, dropping him next to the entangled Kairo.

"For the same reason you love bread so much," He laughed, "It's in their nature." As Takato laughed, he realized how long it had been since he last had. He looked over to his cousin. "Isn't that right Kairo?"

"I will murder you!" Kairo shouted in fury, and jumped to his feet (which were still tied up by Shurimon's arm), hopping towards Takato. Shurimon pulled him back onto the ground with minimal effort.

"Stop doing things," Shurimon complained to the evil tamer, "I'm tired enough as it is."

"You don't have to hold onto him anymore, Shurimon," Takato told the ninja, "Kairo's harmless now that we've defeated Henry and destroyed the dark beacon."

"Ah, yes," Shurimon dropped his head back and looked up to the sky, releasing Kairo from his binds, "As well as Guilmon's evolution to the ultimate level. What a fine list of accomplishments to go against our string of unfortunate events over the last few weeks."

"Argh!" Kairo leaped off of the ground again and assaulted Takato, grabbing his cousin's neck. Takato braced himself just in time and remained standing, grasping at Kairo's wrists.

"Get off of him!" Halsemon ordered as she, Guilmon, and Shurimon came at Kairo swiftly. Before they could do anything, however, Takato's digivice began to glow, and then shot a burst of light forward, which hit Kairo in the stomach. The evil Digidestined cried out in pain and stumbled backwards, grabbing his shoulder.

"Wha...?" Takato stared at Kairo's upper arm as he clutched it in his palm. A thin black needle was sticking out of the top of Kairo's shoulder, between two of his fingers. "No way." Takato whispered, walking towards his cousin.

"Hey, get away from me!" Kairo yelled as he started to back away, but Shurimon appeared behind him and pinned the boy in his arms. Takato walked over to his struggling cousin and yanked the dark needle out of his shoulder, making Kairo scream in agony once more. Takato then crushed the now harmless needle in his palm, watching the grainy remains pour out of his palm and fall onto the ground.

"What just...?" Shurimon let Kairo go and he dropped to his knees. Kairo looked around at everybody for a few seconds. Then his face went from an expression of anger to one of fear and confusion. "What just happened: where am I?"

"Kairo, it's okay." Takato kneeled next to his cousin and placed his hand comfortingly on Kairo's shoulder. "Do you remember anything?"

"Be careful Takato, he could be trying to deceive us." Shurimon cautioned.

"Takato?" Kairo starred inquisitively at his cousin. "Takato, where are we, and why does my shoulder hurt so much?" He asked, still holding the spot on his arm where the dark needle had pushed itself out. Before Takato could answer however, a look of disgust appeared on Kairo's face. He was beginning to remember what happened. "Oh god, what have I done?"

"Kairo, it's okay, you weren't yourself." Takato tried to reassure him.

"I tried to kill you," Kairo said with disgust, "I tried to kill you, and Kari, and Tai, and all of your friends! I've done so many things..." He keeled over, attempted to cover his mouth his palm, and then vomited.

"You call that deception?" Takato looked up at Shurimon, who looked away shamefully. After all, the dark needle had been expelled, so there was no longer anything controlling him. "Come on Kairo; let's get you off of this mountain." Takato helped his cousin to his feet, putting Kairo's arm around his shoulder, and began to walk towards Halsemon. "Do you think you guys can get us to Primary Village so we can regroup with Sora?"

"It's a short trip," Halsemon answered, "It shouldn't be too hard."

"Takato, Halsemon, Shurimon!" Sora arrived sitting atop an armored horse with a giant swan behind her.

**Quasi-Gulag**

**Reboot Island**

**10:50 P.M**

Blood was splattered on Flaremon's arm. Though MadLeomon's body had dissipated into data minutes ago, the crimson stain remained; a painful reminder of what he had just done. After resting by MadLeomon's death site for a minute and reciting an apology for his actions, Flaremon was now walking solemnly towards Iori, Jeri, and Lekismon.

"What... did you do?" Iori asked with dread as his partner arrived.

"It had to be done Iori." Flaremon sighed, little confidence backing his words.

"You, you killed him," Iori quivered, "You killed him without hesitation."

"I had an opportunity that wouldn't present itself again. MadLeomon was disarmed and if I had waited any longer, he would have gotten back up and I wouldn't have been able to stop him. I know this is hard to accept Iori, but we are in a war. There are going to be casualties, on both sides, and by killing MadLeomon I've reduced the amount of deaths on our side considerably."

"It's just... he was... I don't know..." Iori couldn't find the words to express his qualms with Flaremon's actions.

"Listen Iori, MadLeomon is not gone forever. He will be reconfigured, purified, and sent back to Primary Village as a Digi-egg to begin his life anew."

"I understand Flaremon," Iori sighed, "I just, I need a minute." Iori walked off, holding his forehead in his palm.

**10:51 P.M**

Digmon stood outside the fortress gate, hiding partially behind the wall as he watched Flaremon walk away from the spot where he had just slaughtered MadLeomon. "He's not a Digimon, he's a monster." Digmon whispered. "I've got to get out of here." He then silently shuffled away, towards the beach. **"Slide Evolution... Submarimon." **The submarine Digimon dropped to his stomach on the water's edge and began to push towards the sea with his fins.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice growled from behind. Submarimon's eyes widened fearfully as his fin was grabbed by a large paw, and he was swung back and thrown away from the beach and into the fortress wall, knocking him out.

**Port USB**

**File Island**

**11:00 P.M**

Takato and Sora stood on the docks, watching the ocean, waiting for Swanmon to return. Guilmon was at a picnic table, feasting on a mountain of bread given to the Digidestined by a grateful baker, and Kudamon was right next to him eating as well, though not as ferociously. Biyomon and Hawkmon were in a boathouse a short distance away, tending their wounds along with Kairo and Monodramon.

"Are you sure that TV report was accurate?" Takato asked Sora for the umpteenth time, nervously tapping his foot on the dock.

"It was a news crew standing on the outskirts of Tokyo, showing a huge white fog over the city that was somehow preventing anyone from entering the city, and then two giant monsters started fighting near the top where the cloud wasn't as thick, that's what I saw." Sora reiterated.

"How is there even TV in the digital world anyways?" Takato asked, trying to stay in a state of denial.

"Takato the point is we've stopped Henry, and now we need to get back to Reboot so the four of us can return to Tokyo and figure out what's going on there."

"Takatomon, you have to try this bread, it's amazing!" Guilmon, oblivious, called to his partner.

"Sorry, but I'm just so confused. How could all of this happen?" Takato asked rhetorically.

"Never mind, it's all gone." Guilmon called again.

"We've only been gone a day!" Takato continued, "An eventful one yes, but how could all of Tokyo be taken over in the time we've been gone?"

"You realize we just took two island strongholds in that same amount of time right?" Sora asked obviously.

"But it's Tokyo!" Takato argued, but it was futile.

"Digidestined!" Swanmon returned gleefully, apparently with good news. She had been off trying to find transportation for the Digidestined to Reboot Island within a reasonable amount of time. Halsemon had made the trip in only a few hours because she was lightning fast, but she was too tired now and it was a two day journey for most other Digimon.

"Did you find someone to get us to Reboot really fast?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Yes," Swanmon nodded to Takato and Sora's relief, "This Tylomon here claims he can make the trip in 12 hours if it's nonstop." Takato and Sora looked around curiously, but the Tylomon soon revealed himself by rising out of the ocean by the docks with an explosion of water, soaking everyone on land. The Tylomon was a large sea serpent dinosaur, blue with four large fins, and a blue visor covering his snout and jutting out far behind his head. Two thick cables were attached to his head piece, connected to a wooden vessel, short and thin, that would easily cut through the water with Tylomon towing it behind him.

"We'd better get moving," The Tylomon bellowed joyfully, "The journey's a long one and I'd rather not dawdle."

"I'll go get the others." Sora said, and then jogged off towards the boat house.

"Thank you very much for the ride Tylomon," Takato said appreciatively, "We know it's a lot to ask, taking us so far in such a short time."

"Hey, anything for you guys," Tylomon cheered, "The way I see it, you pretty much just saved the digital world, again! The least I can do is to give you all a little ride."

"Well, thanks again." Takato reiterated.

"We're ready!" Sora called, with Hawkmon, Biyomon, Kairo, and Monodramon behind her.

"What's he doing here?" Tylomon suddenly growled, glaring at Kairo. The boy saw the Digimon's stare, and dropped his head shamefully.

"Relax Tylomon," Takato calmed him, "Kairo was under the control of the dark needle, but he's free of it now. He's one of the good guys again."

"Are you sure?" Tylomon asked warily.

"I promise." Takato assured.

"Well then, let's get a move on!" Tylomon cheered again, Takato's words easing his concerns. "Everyone who's going should get on." He dragged the small but sturdy vessel over to the dock and motioned for everyone to climb in.

"Takato, Sora," Hawkmon addressed the two humans; "Swanmon and I are going to stay on File Island for now. I should be here in case Henry resurfaces. We don't really know what happened to him."

"And I need to watch over the eggs at Primary Village, especially while they're so vulnerable." Swanmon added.

"We understand completely." Sora nodded. "And don't worry, we'll be back as soon as we know Tokyo is safe, and we'll help clean up this mess."

"Thank you Sora," Hawkmon bowed.

"I'm afraid I won't be accompanying you to the human world either," Biyomon stated, "I need to be on Reboot and Shadowtech to deal with any of Henry's remaining forces."

"We understand Biyomon," Takato assured her as they clambered onto the boat, "You need to keep your world under control while it's in a power void. We know you'd come to our world and help us if you didn't have those obligations."

"Thanks for understanding, all of you." Biyomon said with tears of joy.

"Here," Sora held out her hand to help Kairo into the vessel.

"Oh, thanks." Kairo looked down, avoiding eye contact, and climbed into the sea craft. Monodramon, Guilmon, and Kudamon jumped in as well, and then everyone was ready.

"Alright, let's get this thing going!" Tylomon roared, and then shot away from the dock with tremendous speed. The passengers on the boat waved a quick goodbye to Hawkmon and Swanmon before they were out of sight, and then sat down in the fast moving barge as Tylomon towed them to Reboot Island and the portal home.

**Middle of the Digital Sea**

**6:00 A.M: January 31****st****, 2010**

Tylomon fought through turbid waters, struggling to keep the floating vessel in tow behind him from capsizing and drowning the sleeping passengers within. Halfway through his journey, a storm had crept upon him from the southeast. He had tried to escape, but the torrent finally caught up with him a few minutes ago, and was doing its best to steer him off course.

"When did this happen!" Takato yelled over the screaming winds to the pilot, who saw the boy out of the corner of his eye.

"It's about time you woke up!" Tylomon bellowed, "I've never met anyone one, much less seven, who could sleep through a storm like this!"

"We had a really long day yesterday!" Sora cried out as she wobbled to her feet, the rest of the group woken by the wind, rain, and waves.

"I can't keep going through this storm!" Tylomon stated, getting on topic. "I'm going to have to pull off and find land as soon as possible! I'm sorry, but I won't be able to get you there as soon as I promised!" He lamented.

"It's okay Tylomon, do whatever you need to do!" Takato assured him.

"There's an island to the east!" Kairo yelled, pointing out into the ocean. Tylomon glanced in the direction Kairo had indicated and saw a small patch of land in the distance.

"That'll have to do!" Tylomon bellowed, and then turned towards the island, fighting the waves and current as fast as he could. He reached the island within a few minutes and threw the sea craft into the beach, lodging it in the sand.

"Go inland and find some cover!" Tylomon ordered as his passengers scrambled out of the vessel. "I'm going to dive under and wait for the storm to pass! Come back to the ship when the wind and rain dies down!"

"How long do you think that will take!" Sora inquired.

"We're on the northern edge of the storm!" Tylomon answered. "As far as I can tell, it's moving west! As long as it doesn't change course, we should be clear in a few hours, but storms are unpredictable!"

"Thanks Tylomon, get yourself somewhere safe!" Takato told him.

"Good luck Digidestined!" Tylomon roared above the storm as he dove back into the ocean.

"Come on!" Biyomon ran for the tree line, beckoning the others to follow. "We must find shelter!" The Digidestined followed her off of the beach and into the island forest, where the rain was blocked by the dense canopy above. They marched through the jungle for about five minutes until they ran into a natural ditch, about ten feet deep, with a stream running through at the bottom.

"There's probably a cave down there to hide in," Kairo suggested, "Or at least an overhang in the rock where we can take shelter."

"I'll go check." Biyomon offered. "You all wait here a minute." She then flew off down the stream, searching for shelter.

"Sora, are you alright?" Takato looked over at his friend, who was shivering.

"Yeah, just a little cold," She answered, rubbing her arms with her hands, "I guess it was a bad idea to leave our jackets in the real world." Her yellow sleeveless shirt didn't provide much insulation.

"File Island's a pretty humid place," Takato reasoned, "We didn't think we'd need them."

"We'll make sure to bring parkas next time, right?" Sora laughed forcefully.

"Here." Takato slipped out of his hoodie and draped it over Sora's shoulders.

"Thanks Takato." Sora sighed in relief, warmth returning to her arms. "Hey is it the best idea to be hiding in a cave down in a ditch?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Takato and Kairo asked.

"What if there's a flood?" She answered with another question, making both boys feel foolish.

"Hey I just thought of something!" Biyomon called as she returned to the group from down the stream. "What if-?"

"Yeah, the ditch is a bad idea, we get it." Kairo sighed, bending down with his arms swaying. Monodramon patted his partner on the shoulder to console him.

"So where do we go now?" Guilmon whined.

"Get the hell off my island!" A shower of energy beams showered upon them from above.

"Run!" Takato ordered.

"I was just curious!" Guilmon whined. Everyone scattered off into different directions to escape the rain of death. Takato ran along the bank of the stream, but he stepped on a patch of wet grass and slipped, tumbling down into the ditch and splashing head first into the stream as the world spun out of view.

**Island in the Digital Sea**

**6:23 A.M**

As Jijimon aged, his mind began to slip away, which was unsurprising considering how long he had been alive. The elder mega Digimon had a human appearance, though only a few feet tall, and sported a white beard that along with his hair covered most of his head. He was dressed only in a tattered brown robe, and carried a wooden staff capped with the curled yellow paw of some unknown creature.

Jijimon had forgotten how he used to look. He also forgot what his name used to be, before he started to go by Jijimon. Some of his more intact memories were those on the island, a peaceful paradise in the middle of the ocean, guarded from visitors by his assistant, Lilamon. But not all of Jijimon's memories were of the island. The most important ones from his past were clear in his head, as if they had happened yesterday. The adventures of his past, the horrors, the events that had defined him, ended his previous life, and forced him to seek the solitude of the island. Those memories were the ones he wished would disappear most, but they never did. Every morning, when he woke up in his bed, in a wooden shack in the middle of the woods, his first thoughts were to that day, centuries ago, when he had paid a high cost to stop the digital world from annihilation.

He had never told anyone what he knew, even Lilamon, though she had only been his assistant for the past year, when she washed up on the island as a Lalamon. Jijimon had trained the young rookie extensively, helping her progress far in her training to become a champion and eventually an ultimate level Digimon. In return, Lilamon promised to protect Jijimon, from others and from his decaying mind, until she became a mega level, whereupon she would regain the memories of her former life.

Jijimon sat in his shack, pushing back and forth in a rocking chair, watching the rain hammer across the window, sipping a cup of tea. Lilamon had learned of the herbal concoction on the mainland and had prepared it for Jijimon, insisting that it would help heal his deteriorating mind, but he was skeptical. Still, he drank it for her. Jijimon could tell that the idea that his memories and mental state could recover was important to Lilamon, even though Jijimon knew preserving his life was pointless. He couldn't die, at least not yet. He still had a job to finish. Thousands of years ago he had opened Pandora's Box, and it still clutched at his soul, preventing him from passing on and being reconfigured as a digi-egg until he could use the knowledge of what happened to end the madness he had started.

"Master Jijimon!" Lilamon burst in, holding something under her arm. She resembled a human covered in a large flower petal, with pink limbs, and a yellow torso. However she did not have hands or feet, but rather flower petals capping each limb that allowed her special abilities, such as hovering in the air instead of walking. A large pink flower bloomed on her back, and a smaller version rested on her head, partially covering her face and her long green hair. "Jijimon, there are intruders on the island!"

"Oh dear." Jijimon grunted, easing himself out of the rocking chair. He grabbed his cane from its resting place against the wall and limped over to the girl as she flew inside, closing the door behind her to block out the storm. She then dropped the bundle in her arm on the bed, which after a short study Jijimon realized was a human child. "Hmph, a human, haven't seen one of these since Spiral Mountain." Jijimon peered over the boy, who had messy brown hair and wore a white t-shirt. Jijimon noted how wet he was, realizing the boy was shivering, even in his unconscious state, and threw a blanket over him.

"Jijimon, he's one of the humans who's been trying to conquer the digital world!" Lilamon said with urgency.

"Perhaps..." Jijimon calmly reasoned.

"I saw one of the tamers who had been attacking us, Kairo. He was with this boy when I found them." Lilamon tried to persuade her mentor.

"And when you found them, did they fire upon you?" Jijimon inquired.

"Well..." Lilamon looked down in shame.

"You attacked first, didn't you?" Jijimon asked judgmentally.

"I told you, I recognized him. He's been terrorizing our people on the mainland, they must be stopped!" She pleaded.

"And how many humans are there in that, what do they call themselves?" He thought for a second. "The Soldiers of the Glorious Revolution, is that it? Yes, how many humans command it?"

"Three." Lilamon answered.

"And how many were in the group that you fired upon?" Jijimon asked.

"Three!" Lilamon said with exasperation.

"And the other two, this boy and the one that got away, do you recognize them as well? Are they the other two humans who are leaders of the SGR?"

"No," Lilamon sighed, "I do not recognize them as those other humans."

"You know Lilamon, the Digidestined were created to be a force of good." Jijimon explained. "They were brought to the digital world to save us from oblivion. It was only after the forces of darkness got a hold of them were they corrupted and used for evil."

"Master, what are you trying to say?" Lilamon asked.

"Long ago, during the times of Spiral Mountain, which unfortunately happened because of the actions of evil humans, a second group of Digidestined arrived in the digital world. They escaped the clutches of evil, freed their human brethren, and together destroyed the evil. After that they returned home to the human world, and everything was peaceful until these new three arrived. But now, all of a sudden, we have two humans who are unaccounted for. Curious, don't you think?"

"You're saying these two are good Digidestined who have come here to save us from the bad ones?" Lilamon was unhappy with what she was hearing. "Then why were they traveling with the one named Kairo, who I know to be evil?"

"Did I not also say that the Digidestined freed their human brethren from the forces of darkness upon their arrival?"

"Do you really think that these three are here to help us?" Lilamon asked warily.

"Guilmon..." The boy moaned as he began to awaken. "Guilmon, where are you?" His eyes suddenly fluttered open and he pushed himself up, eyes darting around the room. "Guilmon?" He called desperately. "Guilmon, Guilmon!" He jumped off of the bed and ran for the door, but Lilamon blocked him.

"Calm down boy," Jijimon hooked his claw-tipped cane into the boy's shoulder and pulled him back onto the bed, "Your partner will be fine, along with the rest of your friends. I apologize for the actions of my assistant. Lilamon acted rashly when she attacked you, but she was only trying to protect me from whom she thought was an attacker."

"I humbly apologize." Lilamon bowed, but her voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Who are you?" The boy asked curiously, though his impatience was obvious. Jijimon knew the second there was an opening the boy would dart out of there and go to look for his friends.

"My name is Jijimon." The old Digimon explained. "I live on this island with Lilamon, my assistant, and I have been here for a very long time. Now, may I ask your name, and what you are doing here?"

"My name's Takato," He answered, relaxing a bit, "I was on my way to Reboot Island with my friends when the storm forced us to take shelter on your island."

"Why were you on your way to Reboot Island?" Lilamon interrogated. "That place is a fortress for the Soldiers of the Glorious Revolution."

"Not anymore," Takato answered, "We freed it. You see," He pulled out his digivice out, "I'm a Digidestined. So are the two people who were with me, Sora and Kairo."

"Kairo is an evil man and one of the leaders of the SGR." Lilamon rebutted.

"He used to be," Takato answered, "But he and I got into a fight on File Island, and my digivice forced the dark needle out of him."

"Oh, and I suppose you're going to tell me that File Island has been liberated as well, eh?" Lilamon asked.

"Yeah, it has. The SGR is all but dead. The dark beacon is gone, Kairo's been turned, Junpei's digivice is broken so he can't fight anymore, and Henry..." Takato thought of the best way to explain it. "Well, Henry kind of blew up."

"That's quite a tale you've just told." Jijimon laughed not with disbelief but with joy. "Well, I am certainly glad to hear of our people's liberation. You have our deepest thanks." Jijimon offered Takato a hand and the boy shook it happily.

"Master," Lilamon flew over to the mega and pulled him aside, "Master please, I believe you're making a mistake. You know how your mind wanders." She urged.

"Lilamon my dear, I understand and respect your concern, but don't forget who taught you everything you know. You still have many things to learn my dear, trust being one of them."

"I hope you're right." Lilamon said worriedly.

"Come boy, let us go and find your friends while you tell us more about the defeat of the SGR." Jijimon said, more welcoming than before. "I don't often like visitors on my island, but for a Digidestined I can make an exception."

"Thank you very much sir." Takato bowed in respect.

"Master, is it wise for you to be out in this weather in your condition?" Lilamon warned.

"Relax my dear, the rain does little but command this unruly hair of mine." He fluffed his mane as Lilamon opened the door and let them out. "My brother used to make it rain all the time. He would summon the clouds to release a torrent upon us for the simple joy of playing in the rain. It's more fun than many give it credit for."

"Do you even remember who your brother was, Jijimon?" Lilamon asked skeptically.

"I think he was a Vikemon, but alas that is one of my more faded memories." Jijimon sighed. "But anyways, off we go. Lilamon, you lead the way, back to where you found this boy." Jijimon pointed his cane up into the air, and Lilamon begrudgingly led the group into the forest.

"So tell me more about your accomplishments on File Island," Jijimon asked after a few minutes of walking. "Tell me how the one called Henry... blew up you said?"

"Yeah, well, I'm not really clear on all of the details." Takato explained as they marched through the forest. They had almost arrived at the stream where everyone had gotten separated. "I mean, I saw it happen, but I'm still not sure. You see, he's had a dark needle in him for a very long time."

"Dark needle?" Jijimon inquired.

"It's what Devimon used to control the original Digidestined." Takato answered.

"Ah, yes." Jijimon said with piqued interest.

"Well, Henry was one of them, but somehow he got separated from the others and they didn't remember about him. Then four years later the dark needle grew to control him, or amplify his dark side, I'm not really sure, but the point was, he was really evil, with these powers that he got from the needle. He could absorb people and Digimon's life force and unleash it as an attack, and he could craft more dark needles and black gears from one of Devimon's original gears."

"Is that so?" Jijimon nodded.

"Yeah, but then, I found out that the source of the dark beacon, which is what controls all of his black gear infected Digimon and stops everyone else from digivolving, was his digivice. So I grabbed it when he wasn't paying attention and smashed it, destroying the signal. Then Henry lost control. I guess breaking his digivice made something in his head snap, not that he wasn't crazy already. But he started grabbing his head and talking to himself. Then this field of black energy swirled around him, and..." Takato made a gesture akin to an explosion with his hands. "Boom."

"It seems you had quite the experience." Jijimon said half-heartedly, his mind drifting off.

"Uh, Jijimon?" Takato tried to gain the monster's attention, but to no avail.

"He does that," Lilamon spoke for the first time since the trip began, "He's an ancient Digimon, his mind is not what it used to be."

"I'm sorry." Takato said solemnly. "Forgive me if this sounds rude, but why hasn't he passed away yet. I mean, wouldn't that be better? That way he could be reconfigured as a digi-egg."

"He should have a long time ago, but something keeps him here. He doesn't want to lose the knowledge he has, not yet. He claims he needs to do something, and he cannot forget that information once he's reconfigured until it's passed on to the proper successor."

"It sounds important." Takato commented.

"I would think so, considering how much Jijimon has suffered to stay alive all this time." Lilamon shot a dirty glance at Takato.

"Are we almost there Lilamon?" Jijimon spoke to Takato's surprise. He wondered how long the mega had been coherent for.

"The stream is just up ahead." She pointed forward, and Takato could see the brook that he and the others had found just a few yards ahead.

"Guilmon! Sora! Kairo! Biyomon!" Takato began screaming.

"I sincerely doubt they stayed in this area boy." Lilamon scoffed.

"Takatomon!" Guilmon squealed into the air. He appeared out of the trees and galloped for his partner.

"It's just not your day is it?" Takato asked with a smile. Within a few seconds Guilmon pounced on him, playfully nudging the boy. "I missed you too boy." Takato said with relief.

"Takato!" Sora and Kairo called as they joined the group with Monodramon, Kudamon, and Biyomon. "Takato, where were you?" Sora continued.

"I was picked up by these two." Takato nodded to Lilamon and Jijimon. "This is Jijimon," Takato pushed Guilmon off of him and stood up to introduce their hosts, "And his assistant Lilamon. This is their island and they were kind enough to take me back here to find you guys... after a bit of a misunderstanding, that is." He looked at Lilamon, who glared in response. Takato gave her a smile and held out his hand, trying to dissolve tensions. Lilamon's face softened and she nodded quickly, but didn't shake his hand. Obviously she was still suspicious of them.

"It's nice to meet you Digidestined." Jijimon shook everyone's hands. "Takato's been telling me all about your adventures. I'm very excited for everything, and I hope this storm clears up soon so you can get to your destination."

"I should hope so." Takato sighed. "I didn't mention it before, but we're on our way to Reboot to meet up with two more Digidestined and get back home. Our world is in trouble; for some reason there are Digimon there attacking our hometown, Tokyo."

"How ironic," Lilamon said sarcastically.

"Well, it looks like you're in luck." Jijimon looked up to the sky. The rain had stopped and sunlight pierced the clouds. "It looks as if your fortune is turning."

"This is great!" Sora cheered. "Let's hurry and get to the beach. Tylomon will be waiting for us." The group, accompanied by Lilamon and Jijimon, then headed out of the forest and to the beach where Tylomon's sea craft sat lodged in the sand.

"Tylomon!" Sora yelled out into the ocean, hoping to get his attention. "Well, I had to try."

"Can you believe our good luck!" Tylomon cheered as he exploded out from under the surface, sending a small wave of water crashing down on the beach. "The sky is so clear, and I had such a nice rest, I feel as if I could get us there in a quarter of the time!"

"Then let's get moving!" Biyomon proposed, and flew into the vessel. Kairo, Monodramon, Sora, and Kudamon followed. Guilmon stayed by Takato, who lingered for a few seconds.

"Thank you for your hospitality Jijimon, Lilamon." He nodded to both of them.

"It's no trouble at all." Jijimon nodded. "Now go, get to the human world and save your home." He pushed the boy with his cane, and Takato nodded, running off towards the vessel.

"I'll come back someday, if that's okay, to tell you how everything went!" Takato called back as he climbed into the sea craft with Guilmon.

"I'd like that very much!" Jijimon called back. "I'll expect your visit!"

"Good luck Digidestined!" Lilamon said sincerely, putting a smile on Jijimon's face.

"Alright then, let's get moving!" Tylomon was reconnected to the sea craft, so he yanked it out of the sand, jostling the passengers within, and sped off into the sea, towards the northern horizon.

"How fortunate, that storm ending when it did." Lilamon thought. "It seemed as if that one would take hours to pass over."

"Well perhaps Vikemon heard us speaking of him and came to help." Jijimon joked.

"What did you do master?" Lilamon asked, believing Jijimon had caused the fortune.

"I have no idea what you're talking about my dear," Jijimon scoffed, "I had absolutely nothing to do with the weather change. It was simply good luck for the Digidestined. They'll need all they can get." He said solemnly.

"I'm sorry?" Lilamon picked up the ominous tone in the mega's voice.

"It's what I've been waiting for Lilamon; the time to pass on my knowledge has come. It's coming to a close."

"Master, what is?"

"What I started centuries before," Jijimon sighed, those persistent memories returning, "The cost to save the world so long ago has finally come seeking payment, and those children will have to be the ones to stop it from collecting, otherwise the Digital world as we know it will cease to exist."

**Quasi-Gulag**

**Reboot Island**

**12:27 A.M**

If there was one thing Jeri didn't like about Iori Hida, it was that he snored. Jeri was amazed such a small boy could make a sound louder than an entire fleet of Brimpmon. Lying on a bunk bed in a room in the barracks section of the fortress, Jeri was above Iori, and though the previous days' trials had put her out for almost 11 hours, for the last hour Iori's snoring had finally gotten to her, and she had to jump out of bed and leave the room if she ever wanted some peace and quiet. As she did so, however, she was met with more displeasure.

"Jeri, you're up, how pleasant!" Coronamon cheered as he came barreling down the hallway. "Dressed and ready for the day, are you? I'd imagine so after sleeping half of it away!"

"I went to bed in this." Jeri replied groggily, still feeling sleep-deprived despite her extended nap. "What's going on?"

"Great news! Takato and Sora have returned from File Island victorious! I have come to retrieve you and my partner for the meeting. Does he still slumber?"

"Takato's here?" Jeri squealed. She felt as if she hadn't seen her friend for ages. With a new burst of energy she ran down the hall towards the stairs.

"Hm, she could have at least answered me." Coronamon shrugged, and opened the door. "What is that dreadful noise!"

Jeri climbed the stairs two steps at a time, finally reaching the ground floor. She ran out into the bright sunlight, squinting harshly, and saw a group of humans and rookie Digimon standing in the middle of the courtyard.

"Takato, Sora!" She called to her friends while running over to them. As she ran, however, her eyes began to adjust, and she noticed the boy standing with them: Kairo. "Agh!" She stopped quickly upon seeing his face, and began to back away nervously.

"Jeri, it's okay!" Takato called to her as he made his way over, the rest of the group behind him. Jeri could see that Hawkmon had not accompanied them back to Reboot.

"Why is he here?" Jeri asked warily.

"Kairo was freed from the dark needle." Sora explained as the two girls came face to face. "Takato's digivice forced it out of him."

"I pulled it out and crushed it in my hands." Takato said proudly, "Now my cousin's all better and ready to help us kick some digital butt."

"Thanks Takato." Kairo whispered with embarrassment.

"Are you sure?" Jeri flinched when Kairo stepped near her.

"We promise Jeri." Sora nodded.

"Okay then," Jeri walked up to Kairo and grabbed his hand, shaking ferociously, "Welcome to the team." She said cheerfully.

"You don't... hate me?" He asked nervously yet curiously.

"Why would I? It's not your fault you did what you did. You were under the control of enemy technology. The important thing is you're with us now and ready to help, right?"

"Right." Kairo nodded, smiling.

"So you're really one of the good guys now?" Iori appeared from behind Jeri with Coronamon and Lunamon.

"Yeah, I am." Kairo nodded with confidence after Jeri's blessing. "That is, as long as you're okay with me here."

"I won't pretend like I trust you." Iori replied bluntly. "But I trust Takato, and if he trusts you, then that's good enough for me to work with you. Just watch yourself." He said with a glare.

"Right, okay." Kairo replied nervously.

"Iori if you're done staring down Kairo we've got bigger issues to deal with." Sora snapped, gaining everyone's attention. She then explained about what she had seen on the television.

"I can't believe it: the human world is under attack?" Jeri gasped.

"By who?" Iori asked.

"We don't know, but we have to get back there." Takato proclaimed. "We've done all we can for the digital world right now. Now it's time to go home and deal with whatever is happening there."

"Right." Iori and Jeri nodded.

"Now how do we get home?" Takato asked. Neither of them answered. "Didn't Izzy tell you how to get home?"

"No, I thought he told you." Iori answered.

"Sora?" Takato looked at the girl. She shook her head. They all stood in silence for a second.

"Jeri why'd you have to go and jump into the portal before we were ready? Izzy hadn't finished explaining what to do!" Takato said rapidly.

"I'm sorry Takato, I was really enthused." Jeri defended herself.

"I know how to get us back." Kairo interjected.

"How?" Sora asked.

"I installed a module on my digivice that allows me to open a portal to the human world from my machine." Kairo explained. "We can go right now, as long as J.P.'s still at the controls. Otherwise we'll have to go find a hot-spot where inter-dimensional activity has already occurred."

"Well let's get going then, shall we?" Coronamon proposed.

"I'm going to stay here." Biyomon explained to Iori, Jeri, Coronamon, and Lunamon. "I need to be here and help deal with whatever mess is left."

"If that is what you wish Biyomon," Lunamon nodded at the bird, "But you should know, Armadillomonis locked up downstairs. We captured him last night."

"Thank you for telling me." Biyomon squawked. "He'll be trouble for sure, but I'll be able to handle him. What about MadLeomon?"

"I took care of that ruffian!" Coronamon bellowed proudly, pumping a fist into the air.

"You digivolved to ultimate?" Guilmon bent down and asked the lion rookie.

"Yes, impressive eh?" Coronamon said with his chest puffed out.

"I digivolved to ultimate too, last night!" Guilmon squealed happily.

"Ayah!" Coronamon deflated, dropping his head.

"What's wrong Kairo?" Takato asked his cousin, who had been clicking a button on his digivice with no result.

"J.P. isn't answering. Great, now we have to find a hot-spot." Kairo sighed.

"That's just anywhere where a portal has been opened, right?" Takato asked.

"Yeah, do you know somewhere we could go?" Kairo asked.

"Follow me." Takato ordered, and then ran for one of the staircases. He led the group down a few floors until they arrived at a large hole in the middle of the room, then crossed a catwalk going through a gate to the other side, taking the group past a string of corridors going off in either direction down to the end of the main hallway, which opened right and left. Takato took the path to the right, following the hallway as it curved, then turned right again, until they arrived at a door. He entered, flipped on a light switch, and beckoned for the others to follow.

"Henry's chamber, of course," Kairo realized, "You've opened a portal here before. We've never traveled to the digital world to or from here, it being Henry's and all."

"Let's do this Kairo." Sora nodded at the boy, telling him to activate the portal.

"Right." Kairo pressed a button on his digivice that was not available on any of the other Destined's digivices. A few seconds later, there was a ripping sound and a large sheet of plasma opened up in the middle of the room.

"Goodbye Digidestined, good luck with your mission, and please come back soon!" Biyomon called to them from the door.

"Goodbye Biyomon, and don't worry, we'll be back as soon as we're done!" Takato answered, and then jumped into the portal. Guilmon followed, and the other Digidestined trailed after him. A few seconds after Monodramon jumped into the portal, it closed, leaving the room dark again, aside from the pale light coming from the lamps above. Biyomon turned around and began to close the door, when a pain in her side caused her to wince.

"Ugh," She grabbed her stomach with her wing, limping out into the hallway. "What's that all about?" She pondered. She had mostly recovered from her wounds battling Cyberdramon, so she wasn't sure why she was in pain now. It soon faded away though, so she thought chose to ignore it. She flipped off the light and shut the door, leaving Henry's chamber in total darkness once again.


	22. The Devas

**Chapter 22: The Devas**

**Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan**

**10:35 P.M**

**January 30****th****, 2010**

MachGaogamon stood helpless atop a skyscraper as Hisyarumon constricted around his body. The serpentine dragon had quickly gained the upper hand in the battle, and was now constricting his opponent with his snake-like body, locking the canine in place and leaving him completely at the dragon's mercy.

Or so Hisyarumon thought.

"Let go of me…" MachGaogamon grunted as he struggled to be free of his opponent. But Hisyarumon just scoffed and squeezed tighter. "I'm warning you…"

"Ha!" Hisyarumon laughed heartily. "What do you think you'll be able to do against me like this? I have you completely subdued."

"We'll see about that." MachGaogamon grinned to Hisyarumon's displeasure. He then fired up the jet engines implanted on his back, and thrust into the air, dragging Hisyarumon's massive bulk with him.

"This is your plan? You're going to fly around and hope I fall off?" Hisyarumon scoffed.

"Nope, just wondering how high I can get before it starts to get frigid. I've got a thick fur coat, so I'll be fine for a while. I'm wondering what those extreme temperatures will do to a cold blooded lizard like yourself though." MachGaogamon grinned wickedly.

"You fool! The digital field won't let you past it. It's a cloud of ionized particles, we'll be fried!"

"That could work too." MachGaogamon laughed, and then increased his speed. Hisyarumon's eyes widened in horror as MachGaogamon plunged into the thick of the cloud that hovered around the city, immersing the both of them as deep as he could go. Almost immediately electricity began surging through them, causing the canine and the dragon to cry out in pain.

"Stop! You'll kill us both!" Hisyarumon cried.

"Then let go!" MachGaogamon said with a sadistic smile. Hisyarumon knew he had no choice. He released his grip on the blue dog and let gravity drag his body downwards and out of the cloud. MachGaogamon then immediately shut off his engines and dove after him.

Hisyarumon plunged out of the cloud and gained control of his descent, hovering just below the threshold. He looked up, expecting for his opponent to come out as well, but wasn't prepared for the monster's immediate exit. MachGaogamon flew out of the cloud and grabbed Hisyarumon by the neck, dragging the dragon back down to earth. Hisyarumon struggled in futility for a moment, stunned at the canine's quick action, but then recovered and began to pull away. MachGaogamon wrapped both his palms around the ultimate's neck and turned his thrusters back on, plunging them down even faster. Hisyarumon whipped his long body back and forth violently, attempting to damage MachGaogamon, however it was no use. He had no control of the situation. Even if he could break free he wouldn't be able to recover in time to avoid slamming into the earth, which was seconds away.

Just before the impact, however, Hisyarumon felt MachGaogamon's engines shut off. The canine slowed a bit and turned both their bodies so that he was on top, then drove both of his hind legs into Hisyarumon's gut. Hisyarumon cried painfully as he realized what was about to happen.

**10:41 P.M**

"Give it up boy." The Knightmon ordered.

J.P. stood with his back to the wall of a warehouse, holding a crowbar as if it were a sword as a Knightmon slowly came upon him. The only Knightmon to survive the group's battle with Zudomon before Hisyarumon intervened, he had found J.P. shortly after the deva and MachGaogamon had begun fighting in the skies. J.P. tried to run but the Knightmon had cut him off. J.P. finally had gotten hold of a crowbar and had managed to hit the Knightmon in the face, temporarily stunning it, but before he could run far, the monster had recovered and forced him into the corner.

"Back off!" J.P. threatened pointlessly. The ultimate had nothing to fear from the Digidestined. Without his partner, the boy was no threat, and they both knew it.

Then an explosion sounded from behind Knightmon. The ultimate turned around towards the docks to see Hisyarumon's body crushed along the boardwalk, which had shattered from the impact. MachGaogamon stood on top of him, clutching the deva's throat to keep steady as they both slowly sank into the harbor. Hisyarumon's body quickly faded away into a cluster of data, which flew away into the wind, causing MachGaogamon to drop knee-deep into the water.

The canine wasn't finished with his opponent, however. With lightning fast reflexes the ultimate snatched a bright sphere out of the air before it vanished with immeasurable speed into the night. Holding Hisyarumon's data core in the palm of his hands, MachGaogamon quickly dropped the volatile packet of data into his throat and swallowed. Electricity surged through his body for a second, and then died down as MachGaogamon digested his new powers.

"Uh-oh." Knightmon whispered. Despite his quietness, however, MachGaogamon heard him. His ears pricked at the sound of the Digimon's voice and his eyes darted in the direction of him and J.P. Panicked, the Knightmon fled, but MachGaogamon was on him in an instant, pouncing into the ground in front of the fleeing knight.

"How does it feel?" J.P. said coolly as he walked up to the whimpering Knightmon, whose gaze darted between the both of them before settling on J.P., who began to speak again.

"Go to your boss and tell him we'll be coming for him next." J.P. pointed an arm towards an alley, and the Knightmon quickly complied. He jumped to his feet and bolted down the road as fast as he could.

"He didn't even say thank you." MachGaogamon grumbled in mock agitation.

"Yeah," J.P. sighed, "You know on second thought, I think I'll tell the boss myself." MachGaogamon smiled as he read his master's hidden orders, then shot down the alley after the fleeing Knightmon.

**Outskirts of Tokyo, Japan**

**10:38 P.M**

Hiroaki sat in the back of a van, watching the computer monitors that were streaming live coverage of the fog surrounding Tokyo. Expanding just beyond the city limits, the fog had been deemed a hazard by the weather and technical professionals that had investigated it earlier that day. Hiro and his crew had stood by as workmen attempted to enter the fog, only to wander out aimlessly a few minutes later, having no recollection of turning around. The scientists that Hiro interviewed speculated that the fog might be some sort of advanced force field, as they could see the city was plainly under attack before Hiro and the rest of his team had been locked out by the mysterious white dome.

"Hiro," Tohma, another reporter, slid open the van door, "You should come see this." He nodded outside. Hiro pushed out of the short chair in front of the monitors and followed his friend outside, where a convoy of news station vehicles was gathered just outside a yellow tape barrier set up by the authorities. All along the barrier reporters and their cameramen were lined, taking shots of the fog surrounding Tokyo. But now after hours of the same small amount of action that had happened since the initial appearance of the fog, something new was happening. There was a break in the mist near the top, and Hiro watched in awe as he saw what looked to be a dragon and some other beast fighting each other inside the mist.

"Are those...?" Hiro's jaw dropped.

"Monsters," Tohma answered, "There are monsters in there."

"They have to find a way in." Hiro suddenly barked, finding a new focus on the problem. He then marched to the yellow tape and ducked under it.

"Hiro wait!" Tohma ran after him and grabbed his shirt sleeve.

"Let go of me Tohma." Hiro pulled away.

"We're not allowed to go in there Hiro, they'll arrest you-!"

"My son's in there!" Hiro exclaimed, pointing at the top of the dome where the monsters could be faintly seen flying in and out of view. "He's trapped in that city, alone, and I won't just sit by why monstrous creatures attack the city with him in it!" Tohma understood, slowly releasing the shirt sleeve. Hiro nodded in thanks, and then ran off towards Tokyo.

**Building Near Odaiba Convention Center**

**11:30 P.M**

"What'd you guys do?" J.P. asked as he and Gaomon abrasively entered the room where Tai and the others were resting, followed by Izzy, who had seen their digivice signal and gone down to lead the two upstairs. "It took us almost an hour to get here just because of how many Knightmon patrols were circling this place."

"Hey look, it's J.P., who's apparently on our side now." Tai said antagonistically at the boy's appearance, causing him to shoot a glare at the spiky haired boy.

"Don't be that way Tai." Izzy calmed his friend, who sat back down in an office chair with a light thud, displeased. "I'm guessing you won?"

"Wouldn't be standing here if we didn't," Gaomon said irritably, "I destroyed that overgrown lizard, no thanks to you all." He looked around at the room. Tai, Izzy, Joe, and Gomamon were sitting in conference with each other around a desk, while Kari was sitting with the Digidestined with the Veemon and a couple who J.P. assumed was one of their parents.

"We've been pinned down here." Joe answered. "That convention center across the street is where the enemy's main base is set up."

"And you hid here?" J.P. asked in disbelief.

"After we busted Tai and Kari out, we had to hide somewhere quickly. This place is so close to the enemy's hideout that it would be idiotic to hide here. That's why no one would ever suspect it."

"I'll remember that when we're enemies again." J.P. quipped.

"Were you able to find out why that Hisyarumon called himself a deva?" Tai asked the newcomer, having been filled in on the situation previously by Izzy and Joe.

"I killed him before he felt like talking about it." Gaomon answered. "His digi-core sure packed a punch though. I don't think I've ever felt that kind of power from one digi-core before."

"You ate a deva's digi-core?" Gomamon gaped. Gaomon stared at him triumphantly. "Joe, it's official, they are way better bad guys than we ever were."

"There's another digivice close by." Joe stared at his digivice, ignoring his partner, watching a yellow light flash on the tiny screen. "Yolei must be close by."

"Someone should go outside and make sure she gets in safely. She could have Jim with her too." Tai suggested.

"No need, she's already in the building." Izzy peered outside through a window overlooking an alley, watching as Yolei slipped inside a side door while supporting a man with a cast on his leg. Izzy exited the room to bring them upstairs, and a few minutes later Yolei and Izzy entered the room, supporting Jim on their shoulders.

"Jim, how are you doing?" Joe stood up and strode over to his brother, helping him find a seat in the office.

"Had to get here on a broken leg while avoiding countless patrols of medieval knights who were hell bent on murdering the two of us, but otherwise... I've had worse days." He joked.

"So who are we missing?" Yolei asked mysteriously as she dropped into an office chair, exhausted.

"What are you talking about?" Kari asked.

"The other signal on the digivice, it is way up north, but someone's up there. I figured it was one of you guys doing something important." She explained, realizing everyone was accounted for, including a few people she had never seen. "Who's everyone else?" She said, waving her hand in the direction of J.P. and then Yuuki, Susumu, and the new Digidestined.

"There's another Digidestined lost in the city," Tai sighed, pushing out of his chair, "He could even be another new one like Davis. I'm going to go find him."

"By yourself?" Izzy asked warningly.

"Of course not," Tai shook his head, "J.P., Gaomon, let's go!"

"Us?" J.P. groaned. "But we just got here."

"You also have an extremely fast partner, and it'll take Zudomon hours to get all the way to the north side of town. Now let's go." J.P. glared, about to protest, but gave in, standing up and dragging Gaomon with him. He seemed to understand the need for leadership at the moment.

"Tai, be careful." Susumu addressed his son. He looked as if he wanted to plead with him not to go, which Yuuki plainly wanted to do were it not for the firm hand he had pressed against her shoulder. However he understood Tai's leadership role as well. Susumu knew better than to try and stop Tai from doing what he needed to do.

"I will Dad, thanks. And don't worry, we'll be back soon." With that he slipped out of the room along with J.P. and Gaomon.

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**11:30 P.M**

"Lord Etemon," A Knightmon approached the metal primate, who stood on the roof of the convention center, overlooking the deserted street, "I have some unfortunate news."

"What is it?" Etemon said with a cold, emotionless voice. The mega level Digimon was restraining his emotions, trying to not let the Kamiyas' escape affect him.

"It seems Hisyarumon was been destroyed by one of the human partnered Digimon sir. A wounded soldier watched as a MachGaogamon slaughtered him, ate his digi-core, then went off and killed another member of his squad."

"So we've lost a deva." Etemon sighed, glaring in anger.

"We've lost two devas." SkullMammothmon appeared from behind a building, concealing his massive bulk with surprisingly light footsteps. "I've just received word that Minotarumon has been destroyed in a battle with a Zudomon, one of the human partnered Digimon who attacked us four years ago."

"How many more of them are in this city besides the Kamiyas and that Veedramon?" Etemon roared, rhetorically. He turned to the Knightmon. "Who does that leave us with?"

"Well, not including you and master SkullMammothmon," The Knightmon began, "that leaves Orochimon, Digitamamon, and SkullSatamon in the city, along with Cerberumon who is still back at HQ with the reinforcements."

"Hmm…"Etemon hummed, "Pity, I thought we had more."

"Remember, we lost the other four when we took over the group," SkullMammothmon explained. "Our numbers weren't that great to begin with."

"No matter," Etemon changed his focus, "We need to be focusing on these Digidestined. If their partner Digimon can digivolve to ultimate and they have the power to kill two devas, then we have obviously underestimated them. Have Digitamamon join Orochimon and search the city together, and call Cerberumon along with a small group of reinforcements to have him join SkullSatamon. We'll widen our search patterns as well, looking only for the children who escaped us."

"I hate to break it to you Etemon, but I think they're long gone by now." SkullMammothmon said carefully. "We haven't found them yet. They're probably laying low somewhere far off in the city. It's amazing really, how they've managed to dodge every one of our patrols and escape our range." SkullMammothmon's words clicked in Etemon's head. His eyes darted towards a skyscraper across the street.

"Have we checked these buildings yet?" Etemon asked, gazing around at the numerous buildings that surrounded the convention center.

"The one's right across the street?" The Knightmon asked. "Why would they be hiding there, so close to us and virtually in plain sight?"

"Well, have we checked them yet?" Etemon asked austerely. His logic dawned on Knightmon, who scrambled to respond to his commander's orders.

"I'll order a search right away sir." He said quickly.

"That would be best." Etemon said with restrained anger. He couldn't believe they had all been so foolish. The Kamiyas and their friends were hiding close by, so close they could keep an eye on him and everything he was doing: but not for long.

**Skies of Tokyo, Japan**

**11:54 P.M**

MachGaogamon's engines idled as he slowly dropped to the ground in between two skyscrapers, using them to conceal his landing. After taking twenty minutes to escape the area around the convention center to somewhere where Gaomon could digivolve and escape easily without alerting Etemon to the location of the others, MachGaogamon had taken them across the city relatively quickly, taking only a few minutes rest halfway through to recharge his burnt out engines. Now they had arrived to an area within a mile of the missing Digidestined, opting to land and search on foot to avoid being spotted by another deva and having to risk another fight.

"Okay, where are you now?" Tai rhetorically asked the other Digidestined as he began to zoom in on his digivice. "That way," He finally determined, "maybe about half a mile down the road." He pointed towards the road that the alleyway they were standing in let out into, and then moved his arm to the north.

"Now are you sure this is the last one?" J.P. asked irately. "I don't want to get back only to find out there's some other dumbass lost out in the city."

"I made sure. I've zoomed out the radar as far as possible. If there was another Digidestined in the city, I would have counted them. Now let's get moving; I want to find this person quickly and get back to the others." Tai led the way, out of the alley and into the street, pausing to check the area for any Knightmon or Devas before moving out. Once the coast was clear, he led the group out of the alley and ran across the street into another alley, which they used to cross to another street.

"Okay, whoever this is, they are somewhere on the other side of those buildings." Tai pointed to the next row of buildings across the street from the alley they were in.

"Then let's go." J.P. attempted to push his way out into the street, but Tai stopped him.

"Wait, let me make sure no one's out there first." Tai cautioned. He peered around the corner, checking for enemies.

"See anything?" J.P. asked immediately. Tai answered by jumping back and stumbling into the alley. A Knightmon followed him.

"Crap!" Gaomon grumbled, readying his fists to fight.

"Move!" Tai ordered, pushing J.P. down and then jumping out of the way as the enemy attacked, lunging forward with a hand outstretched. Gaomon jumped at him, punching him in the arm. It did little. The monster snatched Gaomon out of the air with his other arm and slammed him into a wall, knocking the Digimon out.

"Gaomon!" J.P. scrambled to his partner, but the Knightmon kicked him in the gut and knocked him against the wall as well. The ultimate then turned his attention to Tai, who was behind the ultimate Digimon. Tai ran as the knight dropped the unconscious rookie in his hand and came after him. Tai stumbled to his feet, fleeing across the street and into another alleyway. The armored warrior gave chase, barely behind him as Tai shot out blindly into the next street, a replica of the two he had just passed.

He bolted across the road again, using the open space to pick up speed, but the Knightmon now had the same advantage. It jumped forward, snagging Tai's back leg as he sprinted for safety, then flung him back onto the ground. It turned around and stood over Tai, who was now helpless as it reached down and grabbed him by the collar.

"Ugh!" A grunt form the Knightmon was followed by the buckling of his knees as a hammer smashed into the side of his kneecap. The surprise attack forced it drop Tai and attempt to turn around, but he was unsuccessful. The hammer swung at the its other knee, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Behind him, the wielder of the hammer now stood above the monster with his arms pulled back, weapon in hand. He swung hard at the warrior's face, smashing the mallet into the knight's eye and throwing his head into the pavement. The ultimate squirmed on the ground, grasping his throbbing head and eye as the assailant lowered the hammer, grabbing it by its neck, and then came to Tai, who had watched the attack in awe.

"Matt?" Tai looked up to see his fellow Digidestined standing over him. Matt Ishida looked different than when Tai last saw him four years ago. His blond hair was now combed down and he wore a school uniform instead of the green sleeveless shirt that Tai remembered him with while in the Digital World.

"Come on, we don't have much time. He'll recover from that before you know it!" Matt extended his arm and helped the spiky haired boy to his feet. Matt tried to run off from where he had come from, but Tai stopped him.

"This way, I left someone behind back there!" Tai then ran off towards the alley he had come from, with Matt following. They moved quickly through the alley and into the next street, then crossed it and found J.P. dragging Gaomon out of the alley and onto the sidewalk.

"Come on, let's get inside." Tai said in a hushed tone, aware that the Knightmon might have recovered and pursued them.

"I can still fight…" Gaomon gurgled semi-consciously.

"Not dead you can't, come on." Tai hoisted the rookie up into his arms while Matt helped J.P. stand, then they all clambered into the nearest building, a two story bookstore. Tai led them upstairs to the second floor, finding the residential floor of whoever owned the bookstore upstairs. The place was empty, the owners obviously captured by some Knightmon. Hoping it would be safe enough, Tai placed Gaomon on the couch to rest and raced over to the window, opening it just a crack so that he could see outside.

"Did he follow us?" Matt inquired as he helped Junpei sit down.

"I don't see him yet… wait." Tai watched the Knightmon clamber into street angrily, looking around for his assailant. "He's here, but he didn't see us come in. We should be safe for now."

"We've got to get out of here Tai. We're no match for an ultimate." Matt warned.

"We can't, at least not yet." Tai answered. "Gaomon was our ride, and we can't escape here quickly enough trying to drag him and J.P. through the streets. We'll be spotted in seconds."

"Hey me and Gaomon can-ugh, ugh!" J.P.'s protest was cut off as he began to cough uncontrollably.

"Hey, calm down kid, just rest up for a bit." Matt spoke reassuringly to J.P. "We'll get you and your partner patched up real soon." J.P. snorted angrily and pulled away, laying back in the arm chair and coddling his stomach. Matt walked away bitterly and joined Tai at the window. "What's his problem?"

"He's evil." Tai answered. Matt looked at him oddly. "He has a dark needle in him."

"Oh, those things, yay: so you want to tell me what's been going on?" Matt asked.

"Sure, as soon as you tell me what you're doing in Tokyo. And where's T.K.? I didn't see his digivice signal on the radar."

"It's just me and my dad right now." Matt explained. "He and Mom had some problems they couldn't work out. He moved here and I came with him, and T.K. stayed with my mom."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, it's fine, it's not nearly as important as what's going on here. So tell me, what happened?"

**Data Streams**

**1:00 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

"What's that?" Jeri gasped. The group had been in the data stream for a while and was close to the end, when Jeri spotted something up ahead.

"What is it?" Takato asked, but got his answer soon enough. As they flew through the tunnel they passed an incredible tear in the wall of the white tube, exposing it to another data stream that ended a short ways away. The team gazed into it, trying to ascertain what was at the end of the tunnel, but before they could a sharp ringing noise sounded in everyone's ears and the light began to intensify.

"We're about to reach the portal!" Kairo exclaimed.

"Wait, what is this?" Iori asked, pointing to the tear in the side and yelling over the ringing noise, which was almost deafening now. Before anyone could answer him however Iori was thrown forward and fell into a dark room, illuminated only by the rippling face of the portal behind him. The rest of the group was sprawled about the floor, except for Kairo, who had stood up and gone to the computer to turn off the portal.

"What the hell?" Kairo fought with the computer to no avail.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked.

"The portal, it's not turning off." Kairo said irritably. "I don't understand; this shouldn't be happening."

"Could it have something to do with that big tear that we just saw?" Iori asked. "And I'd still like to know that the heck that was."

"Guys, we have bigger problems." Takato whimpered, standing next to Guilmon. The others turned to look in the direction he was staring. A shattered window offered a gaze into the outside world, where a pair of giant red skeletal feet was stomping past them. A trio of medieval knights of average size walked alongside them, passing the window without realizing there was anybody inside. "There are Digimon in the real world."


	23. Bravery of the Ancient Wind

Sorry for my long absence. First it was due to my laziness. Then when I finally got some chapters written my beta-reader was engrossed in school. Then when he finally got them back to me I was being lazy again. Here are the next four chapters (20-23) as promised.

**Chapter 23: Bravery of the Ancient Wind**

**Abandoned Bookstore**

**12:45 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

Tai gazed out into the open sky. The clouds rolled by around him lazily. The wind blowing through his hair relaxed him. He closed his eyes for a moment and felt the breeze pass between his toes, dangling in the air.

"Huh?" He looked down, alarmed. His bare feet were dangling in the open air, his arms strapped upward by binds that stretched above him farther than the eyes could see. Tai struggled, twisting and turning to no avail, trying to break free from the binds casting him as a puppet in the sky. He looked back down, trying to gain his bearings. He began to notice his surroundings. He was suspended above a mountain, its peak a flat top, where a building lay in ruin.

"Where is this?" Tai asked into the air, the mountain providing a semblance of familiarity to him. As he stared in wonder, the pain in his arms suddenly flared violently. He struggled to no avail. He realized he was almost completely restricted: All he could move was his head, up and down and from side to side. Faced with complete immobilization, Tai's heart began to pound. He breathed heavily, rapidly; panic and fear overwhelming him.

"Tai!"

Tai's eyes fluttered open and he quickly sat up, drenched in a cold sweat, his heart racing and breath heaving. He quickly realized he had been dreaming, and looked around the room to set foot back in reality. He was in the living quarters above the bookstore, lying on a couch in the living room. He could see J.P. and Gaomon sleeping on the bed in the open room down the hall, recovering from their injuries. Matt was sitting in a chair next to the window, staring at him with confusion.

"Are you alright?" Matt asked, his face scrunched in puzzlement. "You were twisting around in your sleep and mumbling something."

"I was having a really vivid dream," Tai explained as he caught his breath.

"You dream like that often?" Matt asked.

"No, not since…"

"Quiet! The Knightmon is coming back." Matt warned as he watched through the blinders. Matt had opted to keep watch the second half of the night, relieving Tai some hours before. Tai quieted down as Matt kept his arm up, signaling to keep silent. A minute later, Matt lowered his hand, and spoke again. "The Knightmon patrols have gotten really frequent since you went to bed. There've been more and more every hour."

"I guess the one we escaped from called for reinforcements." Tai speculated.

"At this rate they'll be everywhere within a few hours." Matt replied. "It's past noon. We should get out of here before this area is crawling with Knightmon."

"Looks like I overslept. Yeah: as long as Gaomon is fully healed. We'll be caught for sure if we try to walk across the city."

"I'll go check on him." Matt agreed. "Keep watch." Matt stood up and walked into the back room to wake J.P. and Gaomon. Tai peered outside and watched the Knightmon slowly walk away down the road. A flash in the corner of his eye alerted Tai to another Knightmon who had walked onto the street from an alley.

"Damn, does Etemon have any idea what the meaning of variety is? First he has the Nanimon working for him, and now these guys?" Tai thought for a second. "Oh."

"Alright, let's get moving." J.P. yawned as he limped down the hall with his partner and Matt behind him.

"Gaomon, do you have the strength to fly us out of here?" Tai inquired.

"Yeah, I can do it, as long as no one sits on my face." Gaomon gently massaged where his snout had been slammed into a wall the day before.

**6:00 A.M**

MetalEtemon slowly creeped up the stairway, careful not to let his steel-coated feet connect loudly with the floor. A Knightmon stood at the top of the stairs, remaining just as silent. When he arrived, they both slipped out of the stairway into the top floor, sneaking their way to a corner office. Inside, they found a group of sleeping humans along with a pair of rookie Digimon, asleep in various locations along the floor. One of the humans was passed out in a chair next to the window, overlooking the street below.

"Grab their digivices before they wake up." Etemon whispered the order.

"We're not going to kill them now?" The Knightmon inquired.

"No, they're not all here." Etemon said irritably. "We need these to draw the other ones to us." He silently slid his feet across the carpet and over to the boy in the chair, Joe Kido. "Fortunately, they make excellent bait."

**12:56 P.M**

**"Gaomon, warp digivolve to… MachGaogamon!"** The ultimate shot off of the ground like a rocket and sped through the air towards Odaiba. A few Knightmon on the ground spotted him, but were powerless to stop MachGaogamon as he left the area.

"We'll be there in a few minutes!" MachGaogamon announced after a short time. "Where should I put down?"

"By my apartment complex!" Tai screamed in reply. "It's a good place to conceal your landing!"

"Look out!" Matt warned. MachGaogamon turned his head forward to see a large red blur flash before him. MachGaogamon slammed to a halt, smashing his passengers into his fur. The red flash swung a black staff forward, which narrowly missed MachGaogamon, grazing his fur. The figure then dropped back down to the building roof it had jumped from.

"SkullSatamon!" Tai looked down at the ultimate demon staring at them from the roof. The giant, lanky black and red skeleton sported rotting black wings and a staff with a hooked end and another end with three claws wrapped around a yellow orb.

"One of Etemon's devas?" Matt asked. Tai nodded. "The devas are modeled after the Chinese zodiac right? Then what animal is that?"

"I think it's supposed to be Etemon's idea of a rabbit." Tai answered.

"Speaking of, is that you're pal Etemon down there?" MachGaogamon peered down at the roof, where another figure could be spotted: this one much smaller than SkullSatamon, coated in silver.

"Taichi!" Etemon yelled from below. "Order your pet to bring you down here!"

"Hey!" MachGaogamon protested.

"Or what?" Tai yelled back as he climbed onto MachGaogamon's shoulder.

"Heh," Etemon breathed, "I was hoping you'd say that." He walked to the edge of the roof and waved to someone down below. Then from below the skyline, a metal elephant snout appeared, clutching a young girl.

"Kari!" Tai screamed in panic. "He's got her!"

"Oh no!" Matt gasped.

"MachGaogamon, take us down!" Tai ordered.

"What?" MachGaogamon glanced at him in bewilderment. "Not a chance!"

"He's got my sister!" Tai urged. "And probably the others too!"

"I don't care!" MachGaogamon replied. "Those are two mega level Digimon down there. I don't stand a chance, even with the extra power I've received from Hisyarumon's digi-core!"

"We'll save your friends later Tai but there's no chance we're going down there and getting ourselves killed!" J.P. barked. "MachGaogamon, get out of here before they decide to try and attack us again."

"Right." MachGaogamon nodded, activated his engines, and shot forward, away from Etemon and SkullSatamon.

"No, Kari!" Tai called in futility.

**1:01 P.M**

"Did-did they just leave?" SkullSatamon inquired in shock. "I thought that girl was his sister." He looked down to MetalEtemon.

"His friends, at least, are smarter than I thought." Etemon groaned. "But they won't be able to stay away for long. We have their friends and if they want them back they'll have to cross paths with us sooner or later."

"Why don't we just take care of these tamers now?" SkullSatamon asked. "They're the major threat. The other two only have one Digimon with them. We can hunt them down later."

"No. The greater plan may involve eliminating the humans but I have a personal vendetta with that boy, Taichi Kamiya." Etemon glared. "Before this day is over, I will have his head on a platter."

**1:06 P.M**

MachGaogamon landed in the court yard of the Odaiba apartments, and then degenerated as his passengers dropped to the ground.

"You bastard!" Tai lunged at J.P., punching him in the jaw. J.P. sprawled back onto the concrete, stopping his body from crashing into the ground with his palms.

"Ow! Man, what is it about this place that makes everyone want to hit me!" J.P. winced.

"How could you!" Tai continued. "That was my sister! Who knows what they'll do to her now that we've abandoned her!"

"You think they'll just kill her right then and there?" J.P. asked rhetorically. "She's too valuable to them right now with us still walking around."

"No! We should have done something, we-!" Tai was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Matt held him back.

"He's right Tai. If we went against them now, those two megas would destroy MachGaogamon. He won't hurt her as long as he can use her as leverage, so let's just calm down and come up with a plan."

"I can't believe you're agreeing with him!" Tai yelled, his friend's words unheeded. "Would you be saying that if they had T.K. too?"

"Probably not; I'd probably be acting just as irrationally as you are. But since he's not I can afford to think calmly, and as much as it hurts you need to act the same."

"Ergh, fine." Tai grunted with reluctance. "So now what?"

"Huh, check that out." J.P. grunted from his seat on the ground. Tai and Matt looked over to see him checking his digivice. "There's about eight or nine digivice signals coming from where we just left Etemon and SkullSatamon."

"Wait, what does that mean?" Matt asked.

"It's Takato and the others," Tai gasped, "They must be back from the digital world!"

**1:02 P.M**

Davis Motomiya stood in a line with the rest of the people and Digimon with whom he had been captured. His partner, Veemon, struggled futilely next to him, trying to escape his binds. A line of three Knightmon stood between them and the massive SkullMammothmon, who was conversing with MetalEtemon. Davis watched the metal monkey jump down from a rooftop and land on the beast's back. SkullSatamon followed, landing on the ground.

"SkullSatamon, take these children and their "pets" over to the central prison quarters. Mammothmon and I are going back down south to see if we can find those other tamers."

"Yes sir!" SkullSatamon nodded as Mammothmon took off down the road. "Okay, get these things moving!" SkullSatamon ordered, stepping over the group of smaller Digimon and humans as he headed north towards the central prison. The Knightmon turned around with him and edged the Digidestined forward.

"Move!" One of the Knightmon pressed Davis forward with Veemon, and the pair of them followed behind the rest of the group. Kari, Izzy, Yuuko, Susumu, Yolei, and Jim marched forward in front of them.

"So Davis, what's the plan?" Veemon whispered to Davis as they walked.

"What are you talking about?" Davis hissed back.

"Come on Davis, you know how this works. You come up with the plans, and I kick the butt." Veemon smiled.

"No, I don't know how this works. I'm just a kid; I don't know anything about fighting. The only thing I'm good at is soccer."

"Soccer, that's the game you play right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Well think of the situation we're in like that game. We're being beaten by the opponent right now and we need a play to get us ahead in points."

"The two aren't comparable!" Davis argued: loudly.

"Hey! No talking!" The Knightmon behind him ordered, bumping him in the shoulder.

"Come on Davis, think." Veemon whispered defiantly. "I know you've got something up your sleeve. We are partners after all, even if we've only been partners for a day."

"Maybe…" Davis pondered.

"Come on Davis, just try." Veemon urged. Davis darted his eyes around. The three Knightmon behind him were stationed just enough away from him so that they couldn't hear him if they were whispering. The SkullSatamon was so tall he couldn't hear a thing below him unless it was yelled.

"Veemon, if we can jump the Knightmon holding our digivices," Davis nodded to the Knightmon to his left, carrying a small brown satchel, "We could pass it to that guy Joe before the SkullSatamon notices. By then he'd have the ability to digivolve his partner to ultimate and get us out of here."

"Now that's the spirit." Veemon nodded. "So, how do we take down the Knightmon?"

"Uh, well that's the part I'm still working on." Davis smiled.

"Hey, what did I say about talking!" The Knightmon grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back.

"Agh!" Davis flew off his feet and onto the ground, the Knightmon standing above him angrily.

"Keep quiet or next time it'll be your face on the ground." The Digimon warned. Davis stared back at him with a deviant smile.

"Veemon now!" He called. Veemon quickly seized the opportunity and lunged at the Knightmon holding the brown sack.

"V-Headbutt!" Veemon sprang off the ground using only his feet, his hands still bound by rope, and barreled toward the Knightmon with his head lowered. The Knightmon didn't have time to react. Veemon collided with the Knightmon's helmet and… fell back onto the ground. The Knightmon stood undisturbed.

"Veemon, are you okay?" Davis pushed himself to his knees and shuffled over to his partner.

"What's going on?" Kari called from the front of the line, the rest of the Digidestined watching as well.

"That was not a good idea." Veemon groaned.

"You think so?" Davis sighed. "Why'd you do that? Even your head's no match for a steel plated helmet."

"Ugh…" Veemon wasn't in a condition to reply.

"Are you all trying to rebel?" SkullSatamon looked down from above. "I guess we'll have to do something about that." He reached down and grabbed the beaten rookie.

**1:08 P.M**

"No way, what are they doing here?" Iori whispered to the other Digidestined as they sunk to the floor to avoid being detected.

"I can't believe this is the trouble I saw on the news." Sora hissed. "How'd they even get here; I thought you needed a digivice to be able to open a data stream?"

"I'll bet they came out of that tear we saw before we got here." Iori answered. "But that still doesn't explain why they came here, or what they want."

"They're rounding up humans," Takato spoke from his position next to the window. "I can see a group of people in front of that row of knight Digimon." His eyes perked up when one of the Knightmon slowed down and he was allowed a better view of the humans being captured. "Wait…"

"I figured out why the gate won't close," Kairo announced as he worked with the computer. "There's a data field coming through that's preventing it from closing."

"A data field?" Jeri inquired.

"Yeah," Kairo started, "It's a mass of electrons from the digital world, constantly pumping into our world, providing a permanent connection between both worlds so that I can't sever the link to the data stream."

"These Digimon have been here for hours at the least, haven't they?" Iori asked. "If this data field has been streaming into our world for that entire time, it could be enormous by now; it might even cover the entire city."

"What does that mean? If it's just a mass of electrons coating the city, is that dangerous?" Sora inquired.

"You could say that," Kairo answered. "The data field is permanently connected to the digital world, meaning it's creating an environment just like the digital world. That means-"

"That data and matter are one in the data field!" Iori exclaimed.

"Meaning Digimon can digivolve and use their special abilities in the city." Jeri sighed.

"Oh no, that's Kari!" Takato exclaimed, drawing the attention of the others.

"What?" Jeri and Iori asked worriedly in unison.

"Those Digimon, they've captured Kari. They have Izzy, Joe, and Yolei too, and Kari's parents!"

"Takato, we have to go help them!" Guilmon whined.

"Kairo, are you sure this data field will allow Guilmon and the others to digivolve?" Takato sternly asked his cousin.

"Yeah, but the other Digimon out there can too. We have to be careful." Kairo answered.

"All I need is the opportunity. Let's go Guilmon!" Takato cried, and then pushed the door open and ran outside.

**1:12 P.M**

"No! Veemon!" Davis jumped to his feet and attempted to run after his partner. The Knightmon stopped him, however, grabbing his bindings and pulling him back. "Let go!" Davis struggled to no avail as SkullSatamon brought his partner up to eye level.

"Now, let's see what happens when we squeeze." SkullSatamon smiled.

"Somebody help him!" Yuuko cried.

"Veemon!" Davis tried to push off the Knightmon, but was completely overwhelmed. "Veemooonnn!

"Let him go!" A voice called from behind the group. The Knightmon turned around, attracted to the voice. SkullSatamon loosened his grip on Veemon, dropping his arm to get a better look at the newcomer.

"Takato!" Kari cheered. Takato Matsuki was standing a few yards away with his fists raised, digivice in hand and fists shaking.

"Just who do you think you are, boy?" SkullSatamon scoffed.

"I said, let him go." Takato ordered again through clenched teeth.

"Answer my question first." SkullSatamon commanded.

"The name's Takato Matsuki," Takato grumbled in reply, "Now let him go or I'll make you do it!"

"You and what army?" One of the Knightmon asked in disbelief.

"Pyro Sphere!" A fireball burst from the building next to Takato and hit the Knightmon square in the face, throwing his face back and causing him to drop the bag of digivices he was holding. Guilmon ran out of the building and jumped at the Knightmon, pouncing off of his face and launching himself towards SkullSatamon's arm.

"Stop him!" The wounded Knightmon ordered. The other Knightmon turned to attack, but they too were cut off.

"Corona Flame!"

"Tear Shot!"

Coronamon and Lunamon jumped out of the building and fired their special attacks at one of the Knightmon, throwing him forward onto his face.

"Bullet Whirlwind!"

"Beat Knuckle!" Kudamon and Monodramon followed right behind and struck the other Knightmon, causing him to stumble.

"Foolish rookie!" SkullSatamon swatted at Guilmon with his free hand.

**"Guilmon digivolve to… Growlmon!"** Growlmon burst from a stream of light and swerved to the left, avoiding SkullSatamon's strike. He then bounced off the side of the building and sprang for SkullSatamon's head. "Pyro Blaster!" A stream of fire shot forth from Growlmon's mouth and burned towards SkullSatamon's face. The ultimate dropped Veemon and pulled his arms up to defend himself.

"Veemon!" Davis jumped up and lunged for his partner, twisting onto his back and bracing the rookie's fall with his chest. They both stumbled onto the ground, no worse for wear. "Veemon, are you okay?" Davis groaned.

"I've never experienced such pain in my short life but other than that I'm doing great." Veemon gasped.

"Gomamon, grab the bag!" Joe yelled to his partner. Gomamon was already on top of it though. He lunged through the small group of people and pounced on the bag, tearing it open with his bound front flippers.

"Stop!" The fallen Knightmon had gotten up and was reaching for Gomamon.

"Corona Flare!" Coronamon steered away from the Knightmon he and Lunamon were fighting to aid Gomamon's fight, but this time the Knightmon was ready. He smacked Coronamon away, into Gomamon, and sent them both rolling away from the bag.

"Takato be careful, they're ultimates!" Kari warned the boy, who was now being joined by Iori, Sora, and Jeri. She and the rest of the human captives were also running to join them, save for Joe who was trying to help his partner.

"It looks like we need to go one step further then." Takato grinned. Iori looked up at him and smiled in agreement.

"Argh!" SkullSatamon finally got a hold of Growlmon and drove him into the concrete.

**"Growlmon digivolve to... WarGrowlmon!"**

** "Coronamon, warp digivolve to… Flaremon!"**

Guilmon's and Coronamon's ultimate forms burst from the ground and threw back their opponents. SkullSatamon fell backwards and stumbled to avoid falling on his back. The Knightmon fighting Flaremon snatched the bag of digivices and rolled away from the lion.

"Our digivices are in that bag." Gomamon told the lion ultimate.

"Right then," Flaremon poised to attack, "Give me the bag." He ordered the Knightmon.

"Come and get it." The Knightmon drew the sword and hooked the bag onto his side.

"Very well then." Flaremon grinned, and then jumped for the Knightmon.

"So you have an ultimate form then," SkullSatamon laughed, I can tell that you're new at it. Let's see what you can handle." SkullSatamon leapt back, giving room for WarGrowlmon to move.

"What?" WarGrowlmon looked puzzled at the Digimon's actions. Then, he heard a stomping of feet behind him. WarGrowlmon turned his head to see a Knightmon with sword drawn rushing him.

"What's going on?" Kairo ran out of the building and joined the rest of the group.

"Kai?" Kari looked at the formerly evil tamer in shock.

"We've got four ultimate level Digimon to fight and only two ultimates on our side right now." Iori answered. "Can you digivolve Monodramon?"

"No problem. Monodramon!" Kairo called to his partner, who was engaging in a losing battle with Lunamon and Kudamon against the last Knightmon.

**"Monodramon, warp digivolve to… Cyberdramon!" **The humanoid dragon immediately threw a fist at the Knightmon, who spun away and crashed into a building wall.

"Here." Gomamon made Joe bend down and used his flippers to saw off the ropes binding him. Joe then turned around and untied his partner.

"A little help here," Davis groaned as he struggled to sit up. Gomamon shifted over to him and cut his and Veemon's bindings. "Ugh, thanks." Davis rubbed his wrists and arms, then helped his partner to his feet.

"Okay, I'm ready for round two." Veemon said dizzily.

"You're not ready for a leisurely car ride, much less fighting that guy." Davis pushed himself up off the ground. "Come on, let's go join the others."

"No, this guy's made it personal." Veemon twisted around, almost losing his balance, and faced SkullSatamon, who was watching the fight between a Knightmon and WarGrowlmon. "I'm gonna take him down."

"Veemon, you can't fight in your condition. Let's wait until you're healed." Davis tried to plead.

"He's right Veemon, come on and let the others handle these guys." Gomamon added.

"No. I can handle this guy with your help Davis. Come on, let's do it!" He looked up at Davis with determined eyes.

"Ergh…" Davis groaned in reluctance. "Alright, let's do it."

"Are you crazy?" Gomamon gasped in disbelief.

"If Veemon says he can do it, then I believe in him. No matter how big this guy is, we'll win." Davis replied.

"But you don't even have your digivice!" Gomamon argued.

"We don't need any stinking digivice. Let's do this Veemon!" Davis raised his fist in cheer, and Veemon copied. They both ran towards SkullSatamon yelling battle cries.

"He's insane." Gomamon gaped.

"He's- brave." Joe added. At his comment, a light shone brightly from the bag the Knightmon was holding, attracting its attention. The Knightmon looked down at the bag and watched a beam of light shoot through his palm, out of the opening, and envelop Veemon.

"Huh?" Davis jumped away at the sudden shower of light.

**"Veemon, warp digivolve to… AeroVeedramon!"**


	24. Dragon Impulse

**Chapter 24: Dragon Impulse**

**Streets of Tokyo**

**1:20 P.M**

**"AeroVeedramon!"** The ultimate Digimon dashed out of the circle of light, stretching out his wings and flying forward towards SkullSatamon. "Magnum Crasher!" He clenched his fist and it began to glow with a vibrant energy, then punched SkullSatamon in the chest before his opponent had time to react.

Davis studied his new partner. He was bigger than before, sporting red wings, a blade horn at the end of his snout and at each of his elbows, and metal shoulder pads. He was slightly bigger than before, just taller than an average adult human.

"Ugh!" SkullSatamon was thrown backwards, crashing into a building, but managed to stay on his feet. He jumped away as AeroVeedramon landed and prepared to attack again. "That hit me harder than I expected. This must be your first time as an ultimate. Let's see if you have any actual skill." SkullSatamon flipped his staff onto his shoulder so that the yellow orb at its tip was pointing at AeroVeedramon. "Bone Blaster!" A powerful beam fired from the staff.

AeroVeedramon braced himself. The light quickly hit him as he blocked with the back of his arms, forcing him backwards onto the ground, next to Davis.

"Veemon are you okay?" Davis dropped to a knee and consoled his partner.

"I'm fine, stay back!" AeroVeedramon jumped to his feet and flew towards SkullSatamon once again.

"Wait, let me help you!" Davis tried to run after him.

"Stop!" Kari grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "You can't go against those things by yourself. Only the Digimon can fight them."

"I can't just let him do everything by himself!" Davis protested.

"You've already helped him enough Davis." Joe intervened. "By showing your crest power, you gave him the ability to digivolve to ultimate. With that, he has all that he needs to defeat SkullSatamon. If you go in there you might put him in danger if he feels he needs to protect you."

"Err…" Davis grunted, unable to argue. "What do you mean 'showing my crest power'?"

"Every Digidestined has a crest power that comes from their strongest attribute. It's what connects us with our partners and helps them achieve ultimate and mega forms."

"And I activated my crest power? What is it?" Davis inquired.

"Obviously your bravery," Joe smiled, setting a hand on Davis' shoulder. "As soon as I recognized it in you two, your crest and digivice activated and gave Veemon the power to digivolve again."

"My… bravery…?" Davis gasped.

"Yeah: yours and Veemon's. Now let him handle it; he's perfectly capable." Joe smiled.

"Magnum Crasher!" AeroVeedramon lunged at SkullSatamon again, attempting to perform the same attack. However the skeleton now had time to respond and whipped his staff at AeroVeedramon, knocking him into the side of a building.

"Pest." SkullSatamon grunted.

"V-Breath Arrow!" The wind dragon fired a beam from his mouth that struck SkullSatamon in the shoulder, causing him to whip around and fall. He caught himself on the side of a building before stumbling onto the ground and twisted around with his staff extended to deal a quick blow to his opponent.

"Wind Guardian!" A flurry of wind swirled around the dragon as the undead Digimon's staff came at him, blocking the strike and knocking SkullSatamon's arm into the air. "V-Wing Blade!" a v-shaped energy connected between the tip of AeroVeedramon's horn and wings, and he flew towards SkullSatamon with lightning speed.

"Nice try," SkullSatamon laughed, and brought down the hooked end of his staff down on his opponent, pinning the wind dragon down against the earth and causing the energy to dissipate.

"Damnit!" AeroVeedramon struggled violently to escape the grip, but the ultimate had a powerful hold over him.

"Who do you think you're dealing with?" SkullSatamon barked at the struggling ultimate. "I am a Deva! Even with the extra digivolution energy powering you up, your power doesn't begin to compare to mine. Only an experienced ultimate could hope to have a chance against me."

"You mean like me?" SkullSatamon turned his head just in time to see a Knightmon fly through the air just before it crashed into his face. The force caught SkullSatamon and sent both of them crashing into the street hundreds of yards away. Cyberdramon flew up to the staff that was still pinning down AeroVeedramon and kicked it down, freeing the wind dragon.

"Thank you," The new ultimate said to his comrade as he flew up to meet the dramon, "I wasn't in the best of situations there."

"It's no problem." Cyberdramon nodded. "Perhaps it would be best if we were to switch opponents. I'll take down the SkullSatamon, and you deal with the Knightmon."

"It's a kind offer but I'll have to decline." AeroVeedramon replied to the dramon's surprise.

"You're outmatched, you know."

"Don't worry, I still have one more trick up my sleeve."

"Very well, let me go finish off this Knightmon and I'll get out of your way."

"Don't bother," the wind dragon said, "I'll take care of him too. Help the others, they seem a little overwhelmed."

"Are you sure?" Cyberdramon asked.

"It's a very good trick." AeroVeedramon smiled.

"Get off of me!" SkullSatamon shoved the Knightmon off of his face and stood up, angrily staring down the Cyberdramon who had just assaulted him. However it flew away, leaving only his original opponent to face him.

"Are you ready, SkullSatamon?" AeroVeedramon asked cockily.

"Ready for what?" The skeleton scoffed. "You really screwed up this one, you know? Your friend had the nerve to piss me off, and now you've been left to suffer my wrath alone. You should have run when you had the chance."

"Let me punish him sir," the Knightmon stood up and grabbed his sword, "So that I may get back to dealing with that foolish dramon."

"Stay out of my way!" SkullSatamon swatted him off to the side, then held out his hand with an open palm, aiming for his staff. It flew off the ground and back into his hand, and he flipped it onto his shoulder and prepared to attack again. "Bone Blast-!" He stopped in mid-attack as he saw AeroVeedramon begin to glow brightly. "What the…?"

"Attack now, Deva; you won't have another chance." The wind dragon ordered as the light began to blur out his image.

"You just continue to make mistakes, you know?" The ultimate scoffed. "Fine, take this: Bone Blaster!" He fired the beam from the end of his staff, but it vaporized as it touched the light radiating from his opponent. "Huh?"

"Dragon Impulse!" The light around AeroVeedramon exploded, blinding SkullSatamon. He burst forward, his entire body enveloped in a blinding light with the form of a dragon. He collided with his two opponents and released the powerful torrent of energy surrounding him, which exploded with a thunderous roar.

**1:25 P.M**

"Ugh!" WarGrowlmon flinched as the Knightmon hammered at him with his sword. "You're tough for a little guy, know that?" He used his gauntlets to block each hit, but the force from each strike knocked him back a few feet.

"Looks like you need a little help!" Cyberdramon landed in front of WarGrowlmon and intercepted the Knightmon's sword, grasping it in his hand. The Knightmon, with a startled stare, tried to pull away, but Cyberdramon's grip on the sword was strong. Finally, Cyberdramon squeezed, and the sword shattered. The knight dropped the hilt in a panic and scrambled away, but the dramon darted after him.

"Desolation claw!" With his claws glowing with energy, Cyberdramon struck the fleeing ultimate in the back, piercing his armor. The Knightmon stood motionless for a second before the energy from Cyberdramon's arm shot into him, causing the Digimon to explode. His data withered away as the dust settled.

"I could have beaten him." WarGrowlmon whined.

"Of course you could have." Cyberdramon replied emotionlessly. He then turned towards the battle between Flaremon and the last Knightmon and started towards it.

"I could have! I beat you before!" WarGrowlmon stomped after him. Before either of them could move any further a brilliant light flashed, followed by a thundering explosion, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. WarGrowlmon and Cyberdramon looked up after the intensity of the light died down, and saw the vaporizing data of SkullSatamon and one of the Knightmon. Veemon was falling to the ground amongst the flickering data.

"He really did have a neat trick." Cyberdramon retorted.

"Veemon!" Davis rocketed across the street and caught his partner before he fell to the ground. "Veemon that was awesome!" Davis cheered. "You're the most incredible thing I've ever seen, and cool too!"

"Heh, well not anymore," Veemon groaned in his partner's arms. His head and limbs flopped over the sides of Davis' arms, and his eyes had rolled into the back of his head. "That attack used up all the energy I had. That's why it was so strong. I can barely maintain my rookie form now."

"But you're still cool." Davis smiled.

"Well, there's that at least. Ugh…" Veemon remarked as he passed out.

**1:27 P.M**

"Take this!" The last Knightmon swung his sword upwards and slashed Flaremon in the chest, forcing the lion onto the ground. He had worn his opponent down and finally made him fall, although it had taken a lot out of him too. He breathed heavily, resting his sword on the ground. Then, a bright flash followed by a roaring explosion blinded and deafened him. Once he recovered, he looked over to the source of the blast, where SkullSatamon and one of his fellow Knightmon once were. They were both gone, their data flying away with the wind, as their conqueror, the AeroVeedramon, fell to the ground in his rookie form, where one of the humans caught him.

The Knightmon looked around in a panic. SkullSatamon was gone, along with both of his Knightmon companions. The other had been defeated while he wasn't paying attention as well. The defeated Flaremon was getting back up to his feet somehow, and the Cyberdramon and WarGrowlmon were standing near, undamaged from their fights, distracted by the explosion that had just taken place. Taking in his surroundings, the knight decided he was now vastly outnumbered, and ran away down an alley.

**1:28 P.M**

"Hey!" Kari watched the Knightmon flee. "He's getting away!" She called to Cyberdramon and WarGrowlmon. They turned to her and saw her point to where the last Knightmon was. Cyberdramon sprang forward and ran down the alley after it. WarGrowlmon tried to follow, but upon reaching the alley, found that he was far too large to fit, and turned back to the rest of the Digidestined, degenerating to Guilmon in the process.

"I don't think I can make it down there Takatomon." Guilmon whined to his partner.

"It's alright boy, let Cyberdramon take care of it." Takato walked up to the rookie and placed his hand on its head.

"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon's voice screamed from the alley, followed by a cry of pain, and then another soft explosion. Monodramon walked out of the alley a few seconds later, clearly having succeeded. "Well, that's the last of them." He said in his high pitched voice, contrasting his gritty persona from moments ago. In his hand he held the brown sack full of the other digivices. He handed it to Kairo, who passed it to Izzy.

"Here you go." Kairo smiled sincerely.

"Thanks…" Izzy said warily. "So I take it Takato and the others managed to successfully remove your dark needle, is that right?" He took the bag and removed his digivice and crest, then passed the bag to Kari, who did the same.

"Uh, yeah," Kairo replied nervously, expecting to be scolded. "And I am sorry about-"

"Don't worry about it." Izzy clapped his hand onto Kairo's shoulder. "No one blames you for your actions. You were under the control of an evil force that dictated your every move."

"We know how it feels." Yolei came up to him after grabbing her digivice from the bag. "Joe and I were both under the control of the dark needle for a long time, so we fully sympathize with you." She gave him a warming smile.

"Really? Wow." Kairo looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "I didn't expect everyone to be so understanding."

"Believe us," Joe walked up to Kairo, "after what we've been through, sitting in the backseat of our own bodies while some parasite in our bodies forces us to commit atrocious actions, all the while making us watch and be helpless to stop it? No one would ever blame you."

"Except for Rika," Kari smiled, "She would've never let you live it down." She chuckled. The group then turned to greet Davis as he returned with Veemon lying in his arms.

"How is he?" Izzy asked .

"Veemons, fine, he's just really tired from kicking that guy's butt." Davis grinned widely. "Ain't that right buddy?"

"Blaaayaayaah…" Veemon drooled out a response.

**1:40 P.M**

Everyone sat in silence. Concealed within the shop that housed the digital gate, Takato, Jeri, Sora, and Iori, along with their partners, had explained everything that had happened after their arrival in the digital world.

"I can't… believe it." Yolei finally whispered. "Henry's actually… dead."

"He didn't deserve that." Joe looked down shamefully. "He was being controlled by the dark needle. It forced his every move, every thought. To die from the insanity of that… thing… it's not fair."

"We've had a lot of friends die on us," Kari sighed, "But they were all Digimon. Eventually they were reconfigured and came back. But a human…"

"Forgive me for being blunt but we're going to have to mourn him later." Izzy stated sternly. Joe and Yolei glared at him. "I'm sorry but we have to focus on what's happening now. The entire city is in danger. Thousands of people are probably dead already, and thousands more could die at any moment."

"What's been going on here Izzy?" Takato asked.

"Yesterday the city was taken over by an army of Knightmon, along with a few ultimate and mega Digimon leading them, calling themselves Devas." Izzy explained.

"Devas?" Guilmon cocked his head.

"They're supposed to be a group of Digimon that live in the digital world and control the passage from the human world to the digital one and vice versa." Izzy explained. "Up until now, they were supposed to be our allies. Every time the digital world has been in inescapable danger, the leader of the Devas, named Makuramon, has turned something called the destined key, which calls new Digidestined to fight in the digital world."

"So far it's happened three times." Yolei interrupted. "The first was when I and some of the others were first called. We were all contaminated by the dark needle before we could do anything, so the key was turned again, and Tai, Kari, Izzy, and Joe came along with a few others. That time things were different."

"And so the third time was when the four of us were called to become Digidestined." Iori stated. "But that was only a few weeks ago. Why would the Devas start attacking the human world now, if just a few weeks ago they called us to come save their world?"

"I don't know, but it seems like there's been some sort of power struggle within the Deva hierarchy." Izzy replied. "Their leader, Makuramon, hasn't made an appearance in the real world. Instead, a Digimon called Etemon seems to be leading them."

"Etemon?" Takato inquired. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Tai's probably brought it up before." Izzy replied. "Etemon was an enemy we fought in the digital world long ago. After the first generation of Digidestined were contaminated by the dark needle and started wreaking havoc on File Island, Etemon assembled a group known as the Digimon for the Betterment of the Digital World, to fight against them. But he didn't discriminate between Yolei's group, which was evil at the time, and ours."

"Etemon sent waves of forces to attack us, and killed a friend who tried to convince him that we were on his side." Kari explained. "After that, Tai and Agumon defeated him, and we thought that was the end of it…" Kari trailed off.

"Are you sure it's the same Etemon?" Sora asked.

"He identified himself to Tai and Kari." Izzy replied. "There's no doubt about it."

"So not only do we have to defeat the Devas and their Knightmon army," Takato concluded, "But we have to figure out why they turned on us in the first place and allowed Etemon to launch a crusade against the human world."

"Exactly." Gomamon squealed. "Fortunately, we've hit a kind of turning point now that you all are back."

"Huh?"

"Not only did you help defeat SkullSatamon, but you found this beauty right here." Gomamon slapped his fin against the computer desk in the middle of the room.

"He's right." Izzy walked over to the machine. "This digital gate is providing a permanent connection to the digital world, feeding the Knightmon and the Devas power. If we can shut it down, then they'll all lose their power supply, probably reverting to rookies in the process."

"But whatever is keeping it open is doing so from the other side." Kairo explained. "I tried to close it when we first arrived but it wouldn't let me."

"So we'll have to work on it." Izzy answered. "Between the two of us, we can probably find a way to shut this thing down."

"What about my son?" Susumu spoke for the first time in a while. "He's still out there, along with that other boy."

"Yeah, where's Tai?" Sora asked.

"He left with J.P. to find another Digidestined who was lost in the city, though we don't know who it is yet."

"One of Etemon's lackeys used me as bait to try and draw Tai into a trap, but they didn't go for it." Kari explained.

"J.P.?" Kairo gasped.  
"He teamed up with us to help defend the city." Joe addressed the boy. "Though he wasn't very enthusiastic about it."

"That thing, Etemon: he said he and that mammoth were going to go after Tai." Susumu recalled. "He's in danger."

"Tai and J.P. are both very capable." Izzy tried to reassure the worrying father. "They can handle themselves for the moment. And if we can shut down this device, then Tai will be out of danger, along with the rest of the city."

"But you don't know how long that could take." Susumu was about to speak, but Takato interrupted. "Etemon is going after them right now. If he finds them before you figure out how to turn it off…" Takato glanced up at Izzy. "A few of us should go and look for them."

"We could split into teams." Joe suggested. "Izzy and Kairo can stay here to work on the machine, along with everyone else who doesn't have a partner. The rest of us will go out and look for Tai and J.P."

"That doesn't leave us with a lot of defense." Izzy replied. "Cyberdramon is strong, but he could get overwhelmed."

"I'll stay." Iori volunteered. "Coronamon and I can help defend this place."

"We shall protect it with our very lives!" Coronamon cheered loudly to Iori's annoyance.

"We can stay too," Jeri offered, "If that's alright with you, Lunamon?" She looked at her partner.

"This place is most crucial to our plans; perhaps it would be better if there were a larger force protecting it." Lunamon agreed.

"Then Takato, Sora, and I can all go out and look for the others." Joe determined.

"We're coming too." Davis announced.

"You should stay here and let your partner rest." Joe told him. "He's just been through a trying battle and needs to recover."

"Don't count me out just yet!" Veemon, who had been asleep on Davis' lap, suddenly sat up and replied. "I can… blah…." Veemon passed out once again.

"Once he's recovered he can help defend this place." Joe said sternly.

"Alright…" Davis whined in defeat.

"Then let's go!" Sora pumped her fist forward. "No sense dawdling; come on Kudamon!" She strode towards the door as her partner clambered onto her back.

"Good luck, brother." Jim limped over to Joe and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't get yourself hurt again."

"Thanks for not being overprotective." Joe replied with a joking glare.

"Don't worry about him," Gomamon said as he waddled towards the door, "Usually he's hopeless, but when he's got me he does pretty well."

"Thanks, smartass." Joe rolled his eyes and took after his partner.

"Izzy," Takato looked to the tamer of knowledge, "Before I leave, I need to know something."

"What is it Takato?" Izzy asked in return.

"Our families…" Takato began.

"We don't know." Izzy answered. "We only were able to rescue Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya when we were freeing Kari and Tai from one of their human containment areas. I can only assume that the rest of our families are in similar places."

"I was afraid of that." Takato sighed. "Well I guess I'd better get going then."

"Dad?" Kari stood up and was looking around in a panic. Attention in the room shifted to Yuuko, who was avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"Where did he go?" Izzy exclaimed.

"He went to find our son." Yuuko whimpered. "He couldn't just stand there watching you kids deal with all of our problems."

"He's in serious danger out there!" Izzy yelled. "Takato, go now! Find him!"

"I'm on it!" Takato nodded. "Guilmon, let's move!"

"Coming, Takatomon!" Guilmon slinked after him.

**Skies of Tokyo, Japan**

**1:58 P.M**

"We've got trouble!" MachGaogamon yelled as he slowed down. Tai, Matt, and J.P. looked over his head and saw Etemon standing at the top of the building in front of them, with Mammothmon waiting on the street below.

"So much for avoiding them," Matt grumbled.

"This isn't good," J.P. muttered, "MachGaogamon doesn't stand a chance against these guys. We need to find a way around them."

"You just couldn't resist, could you?" Etemon laughed. "And now you've fallen right into my trap."

"Give me back my sister!" Tai sprang up on MachGaogamon's shoulder and yelled.

"Get down Tai!" Matt hissed, and tugged at the other boy's shirt.

"If you want her back, you'll have to get through me and my soldiers first." Etemon said with an evil glare.

"I've already defeated one of your cronies," MachGaogamon interjected, "It won't be that hard to take out another one."

"Hisyarumon was nothing compared to Mammothmon and I." Etemon boasted. "But if you're so confident about your abilities, perhaps you'd like to put them to the test." Etemon waved him forward.

"Let's see how cocky you are after I rip your head off!" MachGaogamon shot forward towards Etemon with a fist pulled back. Etemon poised himself to attack, but just as MachGaogamon reached him the wolf darted to the right and dropped down into the street adjacent to the one Mammothmon was in.

"What are you doing?" J.P. grumbled as his partner scooped them off of his back and degenerated, dropping to the ground as a Gaomon. "You said you'd fight!"

"What are you crazy?" Gaomon exclaimed as he grabbed his partner's arm and led the group towards the doors to one of the buildings. "I can't handle that guy; he'd rip me to shreds! We have to walk the rest of the way. They'd spot me too easily if I was in the air."

"Coward." J.P. groaned as they crammed into the doorway.

**2:01 P.M**

"Where did they go!?" Etemon roared in fury, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, scanning the streets below.

"They must've hidden in one of the buildings." Mammothmon hypothesized.

"Then break them down until you find them!" Etemon ordered. "This is the third time he has weaseled his way from my grip! Find him! Get me Taichi Kamiya!"


	25. Sora's Faith

**Chapter 25: Sora's Faith**

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:01 P.M**

Takato scrambled out of the building, Guilmon following right behind him. He turned in all directions, trying to locate Susumu Kamiya.

"Mr. Kamiya!" Takato screamed into the air. The sound echoed off the sides of the buildings and down the empty street.

"Takato!" Joe said sternly but quietly as he exited the building with Gomamon, Sora, and Kudamon. "You've got to be quiet. We don't want to attract any unnecessary attention."

"Sorry." Takato lamented. "But how are we going to find him?"

"I can smell him!" Guilmon cheered, dropping his snout to the ground. He took a large sniff and then bolted down the sidewalk, following an invisible trail.

"Let's go!" Joe proclaimed, and the others followed after him.

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:03 P.M**

Susumu scurried down the empty road, frantically looking around for any signs of life, wary of the Knightmon that had taken over the city. He followed the signs, heading back to Odaiba, hoping that Tai would have gone back there.

"I'm coming Tai…" He whispered to himself as he rushed down the middle of the deserted road. He rounded a corner, turning onto a new street. "I'll find you… I'll find you…" He spoke through heavy breaths, rushing down the street in a fervor, his eyes frantically darting to and fro, searching for any signs of life, desperate for any sign that could lead him to his son.

"Halt!" A voice bellowed into the air. Susumu stumbled to a stop. He quickly looked in all directions, searching for the source of the voice, afraid he'd been spotted by one of the patrolling Digimon in service to the Devas. "Get in line!" the voice screamed again. This time, Susumu identified the source of the voice. It echoed from an alleyway to his left, a little ways down the street. He quietly jogged over to the alley and peered around the corner.

"Let's move!" A Knightmon bellowed from the opposite street down the alley. Though far away, Susumu could make out the large mass of people behind the Digimon, hands bound together, as they were led forward towards a containment facility. Susumu saw a young boy being forced to his feet by the Knightmon and thrown back into line. The boy had fallen over due to what Susumu could only guess was fatigue, and the monster had stopped the group he was with in order to throw the boy back onto his feet.

Susumu squeezed his fists in anger. He and his wife had been treated similarly at the hands of the Devas, dragged out of their apartment complex and forced to walk, hands chained, to the Odaiba convention center before being unshackled and released into a crowded and confined area. He pushed these memories aside. There was nothing he could do against the Digimon: they were too powerful for him to handle. All he could try to do was to find his son and make sure that he was safe.

"Mr. Kamiya…!" A voice hissed from behind him. Susumu quickly twisted his head back and saw Takato, Joe, and Sora come upon him with their Digimon partners in tow. The large red one, Guilmon, had his nose to the ground and was following the path Susumu had taken. "Why did you run away like that?" Takato inquired angrily as the group rejoined him. "It's too dangerous for you to be out here without a partner."

"I couldn't just let you kids go around and do everything for me. I have to find my son!" Susumu said sternly, his voice echoing in the empty street. Joe put a finger to his lips to signal silence, looking around the corner at the convoy that Susumu had been spying on.

"Please, you have to trust us." Joe pleaded. "We're the only ones who have the experience to handle this situation. I know it must be hard for you, but you've gotta believe that we Digidestined know what we're doing. You're son isn't just one of us, he's our leader, and he's gotten us through some really difficult times."

"Uh, guys," Sora gained the others' attention as she spied down the alley towards the convoy on the other street. "Do you feel that vibrating?" Sora was right. A weak tremor had just shaken the earth beneath their feet, defined but almost unnoticeable.

"There's a Digimon close by." Guilmon growled, his eyes narrowing as he sniffed into the air. "It's a big one."

"It must be another Deva." Kudamon speculated. "I'll climb up top and check it out." Kudamon leapt off of Sora's shoulder and onto the wall of the building, quickly climbing up the façade until he reached the roof a few stories up.

"It's getting closer." Gomamon whined as they felt the earth shake again, this time stronger than before. Another second passed and the ground shook again, this time forcing the group to steady themselves. Another second passed and the ground shook so violently that Takato slipped and fell. Sora grabbed out and caught the boy's shirt, stopping him from hitting the ground.

"Thanks Sora." Takato smiled at the girl. As he did, Kudamon suddenly fell from the top of the building, landing on Sora's shoulder. Surprised, she let go of her grip on Takato, and he fell flat on his face with an "Ooph!"

"What was it?" Sora inquired, oblivious to the boy she had just dropped onto the ground, who was wiping the dirt off his face.

"It's huge." Kudamon warned. "I'm not sure what Digimon it is, but it's definitely one of those Devas, some sort of multi-headed… snake thing." Kudamon was at a loss for words to describe what he had just seen. "And it's close by, at the rear of that convoy."

"I see it." Joe stared sternly down the alleyway as a pair of enormous metallic snake heads slithered down the street. It was quickly followed by four more metallic serpents and one black one, all suspended in the air far above the three story building they hid behind, supported by the previous two snakes that had just passed. The large mass of serpent heads passed by the alley and was followed by a winding black tail.

"He's a big Deva…" Guilmon gazed at the serpent as it disappeared from view.

"Yeah, most of them are." Gomamon winced as he spoke.

"We have to save those people." Takato said intently.

"Hold on now Takato, we don't know if we can handle that group." Joe argued. "First of all, we don't know how many Knightmon there are, and depending on how strong that Deva is we could get slaughtered out there."

"Come on," Takato rolled his eyes, "that Deva doesn't stand a chance against Zudomon, and WarGrowlmon's getting stronger by the minute. He can handle those Knightmon now, I'm sure of it."

"I wouldn't be so sure Takato." Gomamon replied. "The first Deva I fought, Minotarumon, he was pretty easy. But the Hisyarumon that I fought after him kicked my ass. He did catch me off guard though."

"Agh!" A high pitched squeal from the adjacent street caught the attention of the group.

"Someone's in trouble!" Takato exclaimed. "We have to help them! Let's go Guilmon!" Takato bolted down the alleyway.

"Alright Takatomon!" Guilmon cheered and chased after him.

"Takato stop- oh, why do I bother?" Joe's face fell into his palm. "Mr. Kamiya, please go back and find the others." He pleaded with Susumu.

"I'll do no such thing." Susumu barked. "I'm finding my son."

"Fine, then at least stay close to us, please."

"Er, very well." Susumu reluctantly agreed.

"Good, then Sora, let's go, before Takato gets himself into trouble." Joe started down the alley, with Gomamon close at his heels.

"It's probably too late for that." Sora retorted as she followed Joe with Kudamon on her shoulder. Susumu then turned down the alley to follow them.

**Digital Gate**

**2:09 P.M**

Karatenmon stood atop the skyscraper, looking down at the smaller building below. The humanoid bird crouched at the edge of the roof, his black wings neatly folded against his back. The sun glistened off his purple armor: his chest piece, helmet, and gauntlets, while the breeze fluttered the tan cloth he had belted around his waist. As he stared intently, he gripped the sheathed golden swords he wielded tightly.

His gaze was fixed on the building that housed the portal to the digital world that he and the other Devas had used to come to the digital world not long ago. He had been sent by his leader MetalEtemon to the gate to investigate why the last Deva, Cerberumon, had not arrived from the digital world to aid in their conquest of Tokyo. The absence of Cerberumon was concerning. There had been no communication from Cerberumon regarding the orders he had been given.

With the loss of the Devas Minotarumon, Hisyarumon, and most recently SkullSatamon, their numbers had dwindled. They had already lost a number of members in the power struggle that made MetalEtemon the leader of the group, and now they were down to five: their leader MetalEtemon, his partner SkullMammothmon, Orochimon, Cerberumon, and himself. Cerberumon had remained in the digital world to manage the affairs there, however with the loss of the other three Devas he had been called to help.

Karatenmon watched as a young boy stepped out of the building, followed by a Coronamon. He could only assume that these were the individuals that were preventing the successful communication with and arrival of Cerberumon. He concluded that these were some of the Digidestined that had caused so many problems for the digital world, the reason he and his brethren were now in Tokyo. He quietly unsheathed his blades, and positioned himself to attack. He would obliterate this threat quickly, secure the building, and bring Cerberumon into the human world.

**2:10 P.M**

Iori sat cross legged in the corner, his head drooping. For the past few minutes Izzy and Kairo had argued in technical jargon that he had a hard time comprehending. Coronamon lay in his lap, bored to tears.

"I don't understand this," Kairo complained, "I've shut down the safety protocols that keep it from closing when something's coming through, but it's still not shutting down. It's as if there's more coming from the other side that's keeping this thing open besides the data stream, like there's something jacked into my machine to keep it from shutting off."

"The Devas must have done something to it in order to make sure their power source wasn't cut off." Izzy speculated. "It doesn't look like the machine's been tampered with, so there must be a connection to the software from that side that's keeping it locked in."

"Can we go to the other side and figure out how to shut it down from there?" Jeri asked.

"Afraid not," Izzy answered, "The gate only allows information to flow from one side at a time."

"This sheet of plasma isn't an open doorway," Kairo continued for Izzy, "It's the output end of the information highway that translates the input from the other side and gives it form in our world. There's no doorway here, it's more like the end of a water slide. The input from the top flows down to the bottom, pouring information like water into the pool on the other side, but doesn't allow any way for the water to go back up the slide."

"Furthermore the barrier here is made of highly charged particles that are constantly in motion, producing output by taking materials from near its surface." Kairo explained. "It takes the particles in the air and uses them to convert whatever is coming from the other side that doesn't already have form in the human world. If you were to touch it, it would vaporize you and convert the particles in your body into the particles that make up the data stream."

"Oh dear…" Jeri gasped. "The gate that took us to the digital world doesn't work like that does it? They look so similar."

"Not exactly." Kairo answered. "It's a bit complicated, but basically any input into the portal remains intact, but if it doesn't have physicality in the human world then it doesn't have a body to utilize. The digital world is real by all means, but it exists in a different physical form then our world does. When we go there for the first time, our bodies become bonded to the particles that let that world exist, and when a Digimon comes to our world for the first time, it becomes bonded to particles that make our world exist: protons, electrons, and neutrons."

"So complicated…" Jeri said with intrigue.

"Iori!" Coronamon suddenly jumped to his feet and shouted into his partner's ear. "Follow me outside, I have something important to talk to you about!" Iori, stunned, let the lion Digimon pull him to his feet and led him outside.

"What's going on Coronamon?" Iori inquired.

"Nothing!" Coronamon cheered. "I just couldn't stand it in there anymore. Izzy and Kairo are so boring!"

"Damnit Coronamon," Iori sighed, "What they were saying was important."

"Importantly boring!" Coronamon said with jest.

"That doesn't even make any sense." Iori groaned.

"Do you feel that breeze?" Coronamon suddenly changed the subject.

"That's enough, I'm going back inside. I want to know what they're talking about-" Coronamon cut him off.

"Iori move!" Coronamon jumped off the ground and knocked him away from the doorway. They both slammed into the pavement, sending a sharp shooting pain through Iori's back. He was about to question his partner when suddenly a black blur crashed into the spot they had been standing in. Iori stared in awe at the humanoid black bird that held a pair of golden swords that had just effortlessly pierced through the pavement.

"Who the hell are you?" Iori demanded to know. But the monster didn't answer, or even give the Digidestined time to get up. He slid his swords out of the pavement as if it were butter, and slashed at Iori and Coronamon.

** "Coronamon digivolve to… Firamon!"** The champion lion appeared in a flash of light and Iori found himself perched onto his partner's back. Coronamon caught the blade with his teeth, and then using his powerful neck flung the bird man away. The monster flipped through the air and landed perfectly in the middle of the street, blades poised to strike.

"I'll ask again: who are you?!" Iori ordered an answer as Jeri, Lunamon, and Kari piled out of the building to investigate the noises outside.

"And why should I tell you?" The bird man snarled.

"You attacked us!" Firamon barked. "The least you can do is identify yourself!"

"Very well then," The monster finally spoke. "You were good enough to fend off my attacks, so I at least owe you the dignity of answering your questions. I am Karatenmon, one of the twelve Devas. I am third in command of the Knightmon army, displaced only by my masters SkullMammothmon and our glorious leader, MetalEtemon."

"You're the third strongest Deva?" Kari barked.

"My ranking is not a reflection of my strength but of my experience. However I am considered the strongest of the original Devas save for my former superiors, Makuramon and Vikaralamon."

"What happened to Makuramon?" Kari asked. "Why did you Devas betray us?"

"We were not the betrayers." Karatenmon growled. "We were the ones betrayed. Makuramon told us that in times of crisis we were to turn the destined key, which calls forth saviors from the human world. However in our roles as protectors of the pathways to and from the digital world we came across a Digimon the flowed in from the data streams. Upon learning of our identities he told us of our mistakes. He explained what the Digidestined had truly done to the digital world. Instead of saving it, they aligned with the dark forces and conspired to destroy us all. If it were not for the Royal Knights, you humans would have obliterated the digital world!"

"You've got it all wrong!" Jeri protested. "That Digimon lied to you. The Digidestined didn't go to your world to destroy it: they went to save it!"

"Do not question my master!" Karatenmon snarled. "Lord MetalEtemon has set us upon the true path to protecting the digital world. When a new crisis emerged in the form of yet more human children, he led us to find a way into the human world to deal with the Digidestined from here! His genius ideas will save the Digital world from the harmful hands of humans!"

"Etemon's been filling your heads with lies." Kari said sternly. "He's too wrapped up in his own hatred to understand what actually happened. The original Digidestined who were called to the digital world were brainwashed by Devimon. They couldn't control their own actions. And the group that came after, my group, helped to save both the original Digidestined from Devimon and the rest of the digital world!"

"Hmm…" Lunamon hummed, "What happened to your former superiors, Makuramon and that other guy?"

"When Etemon arrived, there was a power struggle amongst our group. Some of the Devas, including our leader Makuramon, were skeptical of Etemon's claims, and attempted to banish him off of our plane and back into the main digital world. Many of us rallied in favor of Etemon. We wanted to take a more active approach to defending our world, and Etemon gave us the opportunity. The battle decimated our numbers. We lost five Devas that day, and we were forced to imprison the remaining Devas that refused to follow our new leader, lord Etemon."

"Let me guess, they were Makuramon and Vikaralamon right?" Lunamon surmised.

"Along with Antylamon, the last straggling follower of Makuramon and Vikaralamon, yes. We imprisoned the three of them, replacing Makuramon with our new leader Etemon, and soon replaced Vikaralamon with Mammothmon and SkullSatamon."

"So Makuramon is still alive," Kari sighed with relief, "He's the one that turned the destined key isn't he?"

"Makuramon eluded capture for quite some time. He may or may not have turned the destined key before we were able to subdue him, which would explain the presence of these Digidestined that I have not heard of before." He eyed Iori and Jeri.

"We have one last question," Iori stepped forward, "What did you do to the portal to make it unable to close?"

"So that's what you're doing in there," Karatenmon scoffed, "You cannot close the portal. MetalEtemon personally adjusted your program so that it would not shut down unless he gives the order to the machine."

"Great," Firamon grumbled, "So we've got to defeat Etemon before we can even have a chance of closing that gate down. So much for having an easy way of defeating these guys."

"Kari," Iori turned to the older girl, "You should go inside and tell everyone what we've just learned. Also, I think story time is over, so you might want to clear out of here before things get hairy."

"You're probably right, unfortunately," She sighed, "Be careful you two."

"I've answered all of your questions." Karatenmon growled as Kari slipped back inside. "And I have no further interest in continuing this discussion. Now," He had been standing in a relaxed pose, and now re-positioned his swords, "Let us begin."

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:10 P.M**

"Get up you stupid girl!" The Knightmon barked at a young girl, who had fallen out of line. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to her feet, forcing a squeal out of her.

"Please, we've been walking for hours." A man, her father, jumped out of line and caught the girl as the Knightmon tossed her away. "We're all so tired, we need a rest."

"Shut up and get back in line, both of you!" The Knightmon grabbed the man by his collar and shoved the two back into the line. The force of his throw caused them to crash into the people behind them, knocking over a larger group of people. "I said get up!" He unsheathed his sword.

"You all better keep moving." Orochimon hissed from the rear of the group. "Etemon only wants you all alive so he can make sure none of the Digidestined slip through his grasp. You are all expendable, and your lives hang by a thread. If you die we'll just leave your corpses here and collect them later. It's only convenient for us to let you live because it's faster than killing you all and dragging your bodies around."

"Agh!" The young girl jumped into her father's arms, squeezing his neck tightly, "Daddy I'm scared!"

"I said get up!" The Knightmon thrust his blade into the ground beneath the man's feet, causing the young girl to cry out in terror once again.

"Get away from her!" A voice bellowed. The Knightmon turned towards the noise and was caught off guard. A large metal claw tore through the air and into his chest, piercing the metal and tearing into the flesh underneath.

"Ugh…" The Knightmon groaned as he slumped onto WarGrowlmon's claw, then just as quickly as the blow had come his body burst into a mass of data and fluttered away.

"Let these people go!" WarGrowlmon and Takato, atop his back, demanded simultaneously, staring at Orochimon with widened eyes.

"It seems the Digidestined come to me, how perfect!" Orochimon hissed with glee. "Knightmon, get over here!" He ordered the hoard of Knightmon surrounding the group of a hundred people. The twenty or so Knightmon gathered towards the back of the line, where WarGrowlmon and Orochimon faced off, surrounding the Digidestined ultimate.

"I'm not scared of these guys!" WarGrowlmon glared at his opponents.

"Everybody run!" Sora appeared from an alley atop Reppamon. "Follow me, quickly!" The group wasted no time in following the girl's orders. The large group of people quickly ran away from the group of ultimates at their rear.

"Hey, get back here!" One of the Knightmon ordered the group, and attempted to chase after them. Zudomon then jumped in front of him and smashed the warrior with his hammer. The Knightmon's remains scattered away as data.

"WarGrowlmon don't stop, destroy as many Knightmon as you can!" Zudomon ordered, and swung his mighty hammer again, aiming for another Knightmon. This time however they were prepared, and the individual he had targeted braced himself and grabbed the hammer, stopping the strike. Zudomon wouldn't give him any time to recover, however. He immediately let go of his weapon and threw a fist at the unsuspecting Knightmon. The armored Digimon couldn't effectively block the strike and took the full force of the punch, which threw him into a building.

"Atomic Blaster!" WarGrowlmon turned towards the group of ultimates and fired a devastating blast from his gun ports. Most of his targets jumped out of the way or braced themselves against the blast, but one was trapped in the middle of the group and couldn't respond in time, taking the full force of the blast. His data faded away with the smoke from the aftermath.

"Keep moving, get as far away from here as possible!" Sora ordered as the group of people scrambled to get away from the battle behind them. Many started to break off, disappearing down alleyways and side streets.

"Sora hold on!" Reppamon exclaimed as he was forced to suddenly stop. Sora gripped her partner's neck and barely hung on. After they had stopped Sora looked up to see a trio of Knightmon standing in front of her.

"Everyone break away!" She turned and yelled to the people behind her. However most of them had already broken up and gone in separate directions. However two stragglers had tried to run away too late, and had gotten captured by one of the three ultimates.

"Daddy!" The little girl and her father were snatched up by the Knightmon. Reppamon lunged at the monster, his horn lowered, and attempted to jab at his foe. The Knightmon was prepared however and grabbed Reppamon's horn, throwing him and Sora off to the side. In this move however he accidentally let go of his hostages, and threw the little girl and her father along with Reppamon and Sora, sending them all into a pile in the middle of the street. Reppamon quickly sprang back up and rushed at the Knightmon again as Sora helped the two civilians to their feet.

"What's going on here?" The man cried to Sora as he grasped his daughter in his arms.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be alright, just get away from here as fast as possible and hide!" Sora ordered him.

"How can you be so sure?" He whimpered.

"Don't worry; just have faith in us, the Digidestined!" She smiled. As she did, a light began to shine from her crest.

"What's that?" He looked down at the beacon as it shown even brighter. Sora looked down, and smiled.

"It's our way out of this mess, now go!" She shoved the man away and turned towards her partner as he ran off with his child in arms. She now faced the other two Knightmon, who were running towards her. "So, mine's faith: makes sense, I'll always believe in myself and my friends!" The Knightmon threw their swords forward as they reached her. "Reppamon use this!" She cheered, thrusting her digivice into the air. The light from her crest exploded forwards and engulfed her digivice, which then shot an even stronger light forward. The energy knocked away the two Knightmon and surrounded her partner as it reached him, throwing back the Knightmon he was fighting and forcing it to shield its eyes.

**"Chirinmon!"**


	26. Jeri's Kindness

**Chapter 26: Jeri's Kindness**

**Digital Field**

**2:00 P.M**

"Ugh…" Hiroaki awoke in a daze, head pounding and with a sharp ringing in his ears. When he opened his eyes, he found his vision was blurred, and that there was a deep fog surrounding him, further obstructing his view. He tried to remember what had happened.

After deciding to attempt to go into the city to find his son, Hiroaki had slipped past the guards who had set up a perimeter around the outskirts of the city. The fog had been slowly expanding, enveloping more and more as it spread from central Tokyo. He marched through the dead zone that surrounded the fog until he reached the edge of the mist. Once there, he had dashed in, following the road so as not to get lost. However he quickly lost control of himself. His ears had started to ring and he lost consciousness, hitting his head on the ground as he fell.

He massaged the throbbing pain on his forehead. He didn't know what had caused him to lose consciousness, but whatever it was, upon falling he had hit his head on the pavement, further damaging his cognitive abilities. He must have suffered a concussion that caused him to sleep for however long. Hiroaki checked his watch, hoping to know how long he had been knocked out. The device was clearly malfunctioning: the digital readout rapidly changed between random numbers, showing no pattern.

"Great, watch is dead," he grumbled. He pulled out his phone; however it would not turn on. "Perfect." He shoved the phone back into the depths of his pocket, and then slowly pushed himself off the pavement. His head pounded, as if it was trying to force him back on the ground. His ears still rang, but the noise was dying down, and his vision began to sharpen. He could now make out the fine detail of the road underneath him. Hiroaki looked around, trying to gain his bearings. The road lay before him the same as last night, and fortunately there were road signs about to let him know which way he needed to go. He started down the road again, with more determination than before. Now that his head was clearing, he felt as if nothing would stop him.

"Don't worry Matt, I'm coming for you." He whispered.

**Digital Gate**

**2:15 P.M**

** "Lunamon digivolve to…"**

** "Firamon digivolve to…"**

Karatenmon lunged forward, blades pulled back, as he prepared a devastating slash attack. He plunged his swords into the burst of white light, hoping to interrupt the digivolution process. The light resisted his attack, however, and his blades were forced out of the light. Quickly realizing he had failed, he flew backwards to avoid the burst of energy that was about to occur.

**"Lekismon!"**

** "Flaremon!"**

Iori and Jeri ducked away as Flaremon and Lekismon darted forward to strike at Karatenmon, who had glided to the other side of the street.

"Crimson Beast-King Wave!" Flaremon charged his fist and punched forward, firing a vibrant red energy wave towards Karatenmon.

"Tear Arrow!" Lekismon drew a frozen bow and arrow from her hammer space and let the projectile fly towards the Deva. Karatenmon twirled through the air, dodging both shots.

"Lekismon, cover me!" Flaremon ordered. Lekismon nodded in agreement. She materialized a few more arrows and began firing at Karatenmon. The black-winged ultimate shattered the arrows with his twin swords in a flash, while Flaremon unleashed a few more Beast-King waves like meteors of destruction upon the bird man. Karatenmon expertly dodged the fire waves by quickly jumping over them. However Flaremon had used his fire blasts as cover to quickly come upon his enemy, and swung an uppercut towards the bird man's unprotected chin. Karatenmon was completely exposed, and had no way to dodge.

**"Slide evolution… Digitamamon!"** Light encircled the black wing as Flaremon's fist connected, and faded away to reveal an egg shaped monster encased in a hard white shell, with only his legs broken free from the casing, and a port for his shadowed yellow eyes to see from. Flaremon's punch connected with the egg monster's shell, and Digitamamon rolled backwards onto his feet, unharmed.

"What the hell was that?" Lekismon gasped.

"How did you…?" Flaremon stood agape.

"Now you understand why I am considered the third strongest of the original Devas." Digitamamon snickered within his shell. "I can freely slide between two forms: my attack form, Karatenmon, and this defensive form, Digitamamon. As Karatenmon I am lightning fast and can fend off almost any long ranged attack if I need to, and strike with furious speed and strength. If an enemy gets too close, however, to the point where I cannot defend myself, I can freely switch to Digitamamon, where my rock hard shell protects me from any strike."

"No way!" Iori cried from afar. "That's no fair. He's two Digimon at once. How are we supposed to beat two Devas in one?"

**"Slide evolution… Karatenmon!"** Digitamamon disappeared and was replaced with the bird man. "Now, let us continue, if you even want to try and get around my ultimate defense."

"We're not scared of you! Tear Arrow!" Lekismon fired a barrage of ice arrows at the ultimate, who knocked them away with ease with his swords.

"Don't underestimate us, we'll find a way around your 'ultimate defense': Crimson Beast-King Wave!" Firamon fired two simultaneous blasts at Karatenmon, who jumped away. Flaremon lunged at him again. This time, however, Karatenmon leapt over the lion, easily dodging his attack. He then flipped to face his opponent's back and quickly drove both swords across the red ultimate's back. Flaremon couldn't respond in time. He caught the full force of Karatenmon's blow and was thrown head first into the street, blood gushing from the wounds on his back.

"Flaremon!" Iori cried, rushing out of the safety of the alley he was hiding in to tend to his partner. Jeri chased after him, concerned for both Iori and Flaremon, who had not yet stood back up.

"Now to finish you off!" Karatenmon bellowed, then grasped one sword with both hands and drove it down towards Flaremon's exposed back.

"Moon Night Kick!" Lekismon appeared in the air above Karatenmon and drove the heel of her foot into the monster's head.

**"Digitamamon!"** The bird man responded just in time and changed form, becoming the armored egg Digimon once again. The force of Lekismon's blow threw him away from Flaremon, but he was otherwise unharmed.

"Lekismon, keep attacking him!" Jeri told her partner. "If he keeps getting hit, he'll have no opportunity to change back to his attack form!"

"Good idea Jeri!" Lekismon cheered. "Tear Arrow!" Lekismon let loose a flurry of ice arrows at Digitamamon, who had just recovered from being thrown. He was forced to duck down and defend by completely closing off his shell, lest a stray arrow pierce his flesh within.

"You forget, I'm still an ultimate as Digitamamon." The Deva growled. "This may be my ultimate defense form, but I can still attack as well! Rollout!" The monster then began rolling on his side towards Lekismon, quickly picking up speed as the rabbit's arrows harmlessly shattered against Digitamamon's shell. The ultimate rolled past Iori and Jeri, who were tending to Flaremon, and launched his armored body at Lekismon. The rabbit jumped out of play just in time, letting Digitamamon crash back onto the ground.

"Tear Arrow!" Lekismon once again fired a barrage of arrows as she landed.

"Flaremon, wake up, please!" Iori pleaded with his partner, but the ultimate lay unconscious, blood seeping into his fur. He degenerated a moment later, becoming Coronamon once again.

"Oh, you poor thing." Jeri sighed. She pulled a hankerchief out of her pocket, and used it to press on Coronamon's wounds. "Iori, you run inside and get some more help. I'll take care of Coronamon for you."

"Really? Thanks Jeri." Iori smiled.

"No problem, just go. I don't know how long Lekismon can last by herself. We need Cyberdramon and AeroVeedramon." Jeri reasoned. Iori nodded, and then bolted back across the street towards the digital gate.

"Jeri, I don't know how much longer I can hold him off!" Lekismon cried as Digitamamon rolled towards the rabbit again, narrowly missing her as the rabbit bounced away. "If I suffer even one hit from him I think it will obliterate me!"

"Please, just hold on! Keep him like that until we can get some help!" Jeri yelled back in reply.

"That's not going to happen!" Digitamamon murmured. Suddenly, he changed course, spiraling away from Lekismon and rolling towards Iori.

"No!" Lekismon dashed towards the human, scooping him up and jumping out of the way just before Digitamamon reached him. "Are you alright?" Lekismon sighed as she landed, placing Iori gently on the sidewalk.

"Behind you!" Iori exclaimed, pointing over Lekismon's shoulder.

**"Karatenmon!" **Digitamamon became enveloped in a white light and was soon replaced by the armored swords master.

"Oh no, I let him change." Lekismon sighed, blaming herself.

"Now that I'm free to attack, let's see how long you can last!" Karatenmon yelled, and then rushed at her with swords drawn.

"Iori, move!" Lekismon pushed the boy out of the way, and then jumped to the side just as Karatenmon struck. He didn't let her escape last long, however. Pivoting on his heel, the bird man turned towards Lekismon and jumped into the air after her. Lekismon landed against a building and quickly jumped off of the façade, aiming for another skyscraper on the other side of the street. Karatenmon landed on the same building face as well. He pushed off the wall, stretching out his wings, and raced towards Lekismon.

"Thank you, for helping me…" Coronamon wheezed as he spoke, "But why did you do such a thing? I am not your partner."

"That doesn't matter," Jeri smiled pitifully at the rookie as she held him. "You're my friend. And you're also Lekismon's friend. You always show kindness to friends, no matter what." She stroked the lion's head, running her fingers through his ruffled fur. "I'd show kindness to Karatenmon, if he'd listen. He's just confused. He's been lied to by that monster Etemon and doesn't understand the consequences of his actions. He doesn't have to be our enemy."

"Jeri, your crest…" Coronamon weakly lifted his hand and pointed to the pendant hanging from Jeri's neck. Her crest was now shining brightly. "You are the Digidestined of kindness."

"What?" Jeri gasped as she looked down at her crest.

"Use it Jeri," Coronamon sighed, "Give Lekismon the power she needs to stop Karatenmon."

"Okay, I will." She said with determination. "Lekismon!" She cried, raising her digivice into the air. "Here!" Lekismon turned towards her partner to see why she had called. It was a mistake.

"You shouldn't have stopped!" Karatenmon roared as he crashed into her, knocking the champion into the earth. Karatenmon landed and slashed his sword forward towards Lekismon's chest, just as the energy from Jeri's crest and digivice enveloped the rabbit.

**"Lekismon digivolve to… Crescemon!"**

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:15 P.M**

Chirinmon galloped out of the sparkling energy that had created him. The white-winged Pegasus Digimon was coated in green scaled armor, and a long golden tail behind him flowed in the wind. Glistening in the fog, a red horn protruded from his green helmet.

"Now where were we?" The ultimate growled. He glanced at the three Knightmon which were now gathering around him. "Three opponents against one: that's not fair." He chuckled. "I guess I'll have to even up those odds!"

"Get them Chirinmon!" Sora cheered at her knew partner.

"Knowledge of Swift!" Chirinmon bolted. The three Knightmon lunged at him, hoping to catch him, but the Pegasus was gone. He suddenly appeared behind one of the Knightmon, hooves clicking against the pavement. The Digimon spiraled around, slashing his sword, but the image of Chirinmon faded away as the sword passed through.

"An after-image!" The ultimate exclaimed. "Be careful!" He ordered the other two knights. As he said so, two images of Chirinmon appeared before them. The Knightmon stabbed their swords forward, reacting to the sudden appearance of their enemy. "No! They're fake!" He cried, but those were his last words. The real Chirinmon appeared behind him and pierced the knight's armor with his horn, sending a jolt of electricity running through the monster. The Knightmon dropped to his knees, weakly crying out as his body crumbled away as pieces of data.

"Now for you two!" Chirinmon grinned. He jumped into the air, stretched out his wings, and flew high into the sky.

"Where's he going?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Wind Cutter Sword!" Under the cover of the fog Chirinmon appeared before the pair and ran through the both of them with his horn, tearing through flesh and armor, the metal screeching as Chirinmon's horn tore through them like butter. As the ultimate horse landed, the other two Knightmon's disappeared, their data fluttering away into the sky.

"You did it!" Sora cheered, running up to her partner and embracing him in a deep hug around his neck. "You were amazing!"

"Thank you Sora," Chirinmon nodded, "Now I must go and assist WarGrowlmon and Zudomon. If you would, please go join Joe and Mr. Kamiya. I would prefer you to not be out in the open where something can happen to you."

"Of course, you be careful though too." Sora patted him on the neck. "Good luck!" She cheered as she ran off to find Joe and Susumu, who were hiding within an alley.

"Thank you Sora!" Chirin whinnied, and then took off into the air and flew towards the battle on the other end of the street.

**2:20 P.M**

WarGrowlmon wrestled against the eight headed snake named Orochimon. The Deva had quickly overwhelmed him, pinning him to the ground by binding his arms and feet with four of the serpent's monstrous heads. Fortunately, Zudomon had taken to the hoard of the remaining thirteen Knightmon. He was making quick work of them, but as long as he was busy, WarGrowlmon was forced to handle the overpowering Deva alone.

"Atomic Blaster!" Restricted without the use of his limbs, WarGrowlmon let loose a powerful blast from his gun ports, hitting Orochimon in his fur-covered chest. The serpent lost his grip on the dragon Digimon and was thrown into a building side. The structure buckled against the weight of the ultimate, but managed to stay standing. Orochimon dropped to the ground, his main head collapsing onto the sidewalk. From that vantage point he noticed one of the Digidestined humans run into an alley close by.

"WarGrowlmon, I am here to assist you!" Chirinmon announced as he descended from the sky.

"Kudamon, is that you?" WarGrowlmon groaned as he clambered to his feet. At the dragon's request, Takato had jumped off his partner's back, and joined Joe and Susumu, so the two Digimon were alone to battle Orochimon.

"It's Chirinmon now." The Pegasus nodded at his friend. WarGrowlmon grinned in approval. Their moment ended abruptly, however, as Orochimon suddenly slithered off of the ground and pounced on WarGrowlmon, burying his teeth into WarGrowlmon's body.

"If I have to face off against a fresh ultimate, I'm not going to have you bugging me from the sidelines!" Orochimon mumbled with WarGrowlmon's flesh in his mouth. He lifted the ultimate into the air and threw him into the building he had previously crashed into. The tower couldn't take another hit, and buckled inwards as WarGrowlmon crashed into it. The building collapsed around him, and WarGrowlmon could barely crawl out as he degenerated to Guilmon. The rookie stumbled out of the rubble, standing steady for a few seconds, before falling unconscious.

**2:25 P.M**

Sora slipped down the alleyway to find Takato standing at the corner, watching the battle unfold. "Weren't you with WarGrowlmon?" She inquired.

"Things were getting kind of heated out there with the war of the giants and all, so he asked me to dip out before things got too intense." Takato explained. "What about you? Weren't you with Reppamon?"

"She digivolved to ultimate: to Chirinmon," Sora answered, "She beat the Knightmon that had surrounded us and then asked me to hide while she went to help out Zudomon and WarGrowlmon."

"You too huh?" Takato smiled. Sora chuckled.

"Hey!" Joe came up to them from further back in the alley, with Susumu following him. "What are you two doing?"

"Reppamon digivolved to ultimate," Sora explained to Joe, "Then both of our partners sent us out of harm's way so they could fight Orochimon." As she explained this they all heard a loud crash. A Digimon cried out in pain, and then a building close by shook the earth as it crumbled into dust.

"That scream: it came from WarGrowlmon!" Takato exclaimed in panic. He ran out of the alley back into the battle.

"Takato-damn it…" Sora and Joe both grumbled. They and Susumu followed him out into the street.

**2:25 P.M**

Zudomon blocked a flurry of attacks form the group of Knightmon, using his hammer as a shield against their swords. The thirteen knights had him surrounded, seemingly out-advantaging him. Zudomon wouldn't give up so easily, however. When the monsters retreated, Zudomon took his chance. He struck outwards with his hammer, aiming for one of the Knightmon directly in front of him. The Digimon prepared his sword to block the attack. Zudomon's hammer collided with his opponent's weapon, deflecting off to the monster's side. This was Zudomon's plan, however. Using the force from the deflection, Zudomon now changed the direction he was swinging, pulling his hammer towards the other Knightmon, the sharpened end of his hammer aimed straight for the monster.

Zudomon's hammer easily pierced the surprised Digimon, shattering his armor and slicing into his body. Zudomon didn't stop, however. The sea monster dragged his mighty mace through the Knightmon's body and ripped through the next soldier's body. The following Knightmon was prepared. He braced himself with his sword, allowing his weapon to take the full force of the hit. The weapon shattered and the warrior was knocked away, unharmed but unarmed. As Zudomon began to spiral around in a circle, the next three knights had the foresight to jump out of the way. Zudomon was able to decimate three more, however, before all of the Knightmon escaped his sweeping attack.

With the Knightmon disorganized, Zudomon now went for his main assault. He charged forward, crashing his weapon into the closest enemy. It couldn't defend against the assault and succumbed to Zudomon's attack. As the monsters began to gather their bearings, Zudomon sought to keep them disarmed, and rolled towards a group of Digimon that were recovering. They jumped to get out of the way of the larger beast, and Zudomon took the opportunity to bring his hammer down on another Knightmon. The Digimon couldn't defend as it clambered to escape and was crushed underneath the force of the powerful hammer. The enemy soldiers quickly regrouped afterwards, the few remaining ones pulling together quickly with swords extended.

"Alright, there's only six of you left, and one of you is missing your weapon. I like these odds a lot better." Zudomon said gleefully.

"You won't beat all of us! Charge mon!" The lead knight ordered. The five weapon wielding Digimon ran forward, weapons aimed at Zudomon. The ocean Digimon responded by throwing his hammer forward. The five Knightmon jumped out of the way, but the weaponless one was not expecting the projectile and took the full force of the blast. Zudomon jumped into the air, surprising his enemies, and landed on top of two of them, crushing them beneath his bulk. Two of the soldiers came at him from the side. He quickly rolled onto his side and used his spiked shell as a shield to deflect their blades. The steel harmlessly bounced off of the defensive technique.

Exposed on his side, Zudomon couldn't move in time before the third warrior rushed towards him and attempted to jab his weapon into Zudomon's gut. The ultimate responded by quickly lashing out with his claws, knocking the blade upwards. The Knightmon was stunned but not incapacitated, however this gave Zudomon the time he needed to get back onto his feet. The three soldiers regrouped and ran towards the Digidestined. He threw himself onto his stomach and slid across the street, recovering his hammer, and then threw it once again towards the Knightmon. The weapon shattered one of the Knightmon's swords and caught him, flinging the monster into a building where the hammer smashed into him, obliterating the Digimon.

"What was that now?" Zudomon cocked his head. The remaining two Knightmon charged forward in anger. Zudomon prepped for their frontal assault, but one of the Digimon quickly rolled to the side, attempting to flank him. Zudomon punched forward, slowing down the main attacking enemy, and then as the other Knightmon came at him from his side, Zudomon caught the Digimon's sword in his claws. He flung the soldier to the side, crushing the sword in his palm and sending the Knightmon spiraling down the street. The final armed monster continued a last desperate frontal assault; however Zudomon gave him no chance. He jabbed his horn down into the warrior, the bony blade sheering the metal armor and ripping apart the Digimon's torso. Zudomon raised his head as the Digimon's data dropped off of his horn, flowing away in the wind.

The last surviving Knightmon stumbled to his feet, recovering from being tossed into the air. Zudomon cocked his head to stare down his remaining opponent as he recovered his weapon. "Are we done now?" Zudomon growled as he dragged his hammer out of the rubble. The Knightmon stared at him in terror, gasping for breath.

"Yeah, we're done." He whimpered, and then darted away, hoping to escape the wrath of the Digidestined. Zudomon scoffed at the monster, turning around to return to the battle against Orochimon.

**2:30 P.M**

The last Knightmon fled as fast as he could, trying to escape the wrath of Zudomon. He finally managed to risk a glance backwards, and fortunately discovered that he was not being pursued. He stopped to catch his breath, and then noticed a buzzing from the communicator clipped to his belt.

"1138 here," He grabbed the device and pressed the button, speaking to the Digimon on the other line.

"What's going on over there?" A voice asked. "We haven't been able to get in touch with anyone in your platoon."

"The Digidestined appeared sir," The Knightmon answered, "They freed the prisoners we had collected and murdered the rest of my platoon. Orochimon is fighting them now, but I don't know if he can last. There are three of them and they're all at the ultimate level."

"Why aren't you helping?" The voice barked.

"I've been incapacitated sir," He replied, "My weapon's been destroyed, and I barely escaped the wrath of one of their Digimon. I was recovering so I could rejoin lord Orochimon."

"Nevermind about that, it doesn't matter. You need to get a message to Orochimon."

"Yes sir, what is it?"

"Master Etemon has captured one of the Digidestined, and has ordered everybody to gather in Odaiba. He wants to execute him in front of a live audience."

"Yes sir, I'll inform lord Orochimon that he is to withdraw from the battle." The Knightmon nodded in understanding. "May I inquire why he wants us all to gather for the execution of one boy?"

"I'm not sure, apparently it's something personal. This Kamiya kid really pissed him off." The voice on the other end answered. "Now hurry up, Etemon wants everyone gathered asap."

"Yes sir." The Knightmon shut off his communicator and clipped it back onto his belt, then ran back towards the battle to inform his commander.


	27. Collapse

**Chapter 27: Collapse**

**Digital Gate**

**2:30 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

The ball of energy surrounding Crescemon dissipated, revealing the ultimate's new form. She stood taller than Lekismon, towering over any human, almost reaching the height of a one story building from the tip of her ears to her toes. The pink rabbit was clad in blue and silver armor, and her face was covered in a black helmet that had ports for her eyes. Two silver horns protruded from her helmet, and she held in her right hand a half moon shaped sickle. In her left hand she held a shield, shaped like a three-quarters moon.

"Unfortunate…" Karatenmon grumbled. "This has become more difficult. However, I will never back down from a challenge!" Karatenmon dashed forward towards Crescemon. He jumped into the air and stretched his wings, slicing through the air towards the rabbit Digimon.

"Hmm," Crescemon hummed, calculating her strategy as the bird man sailed towards her. She then jumped into the air, blasting off the ground with her powerful legs, and swung her sickle forward. The blade sliced through the air, aimed towards her opponent.

The bird man dipped downwards, narrowly avoiding the attack, and rolled onto the ground. Not wasting any time, he hastily pushed off the pavement and flew towards Crescemon again. The rabbit floated helplessly in the air, unable to change her trajectory. Karatenmon drove his swords towards her underside, but the lunar Digimon quickly blocked by dropping her shield low. The blades crashed into the shield, knocking Crescemon farther into the sky.

Crescemon used this added momentum to recover. She curled into a ball and let her body roll through the air, arching back down towards the roof of the digital gate building. Karatenmon followed her, stopping mid-air to change direction and trail the rabbit.

"Iori!" Jeri yelled towards the alleyway into which Lekismon had thrown the Digidestined. There was no response. "Coronamon, I need to go check on Iori," She whispered to the lion Digimon, "Can you move at all?"

"Afraid not my friend," Coronamon groaned, "However, if you place me next to the door over there, I shall gain our group's attention while you attend to my partner." He suggested, pointing to the building that Crescemon and Karatenmon were now fighting each other on. "However we should go quickly before the battle returns to the street, lest that insufferable bird try and do to you what he tried to do to Iori."

"Good point," She nodded, and then, tightly cradling the rookie's body, stood up and bolted to the other side of the street. She made it to the door without incident, and placed the lion down on the sidewalk, propped up on the façade.

"Knock on the door for me, would you kind madam?" Coronamon smiled weakly.

"No problem." She complied, rapping on the door quickly, "Gotta check on Iori now." She then ran down the sidewalk to find the other boy.

**2:32 P.M**

"What the hell? Did someone knock?" Izzy sat confused, due to both the difficult project he was working on and the rapping noise that had just sounded at the door.

"I'll check it out." Davis volunteered, running up to the door.

"Hey, wait! You don't know what's out there!" Kairo exclaimed, but Davis didn't listen. He ripped open the door and jumped outside to investigate.

"A little help would be appreciated, if you would be so kind." Coronamon lay against the wall, next to the door, as Davis stepped outside.

"Hey, little guy, what happened to you?" Davis bent down and helped the Digimon up. Coronamon winced as he was forced to his feet, and Davis could tell the Digimon had trouble standing, so he scooped up the monster and carried him inside.

"Coronamon, are you okay?" Izzy asked with concern as Davis carried the rookie inside and set him down on a desk chair.

"Nothing but a flesh wound really," Coronamon said weakly with a smile, "That Karatenmon hits like a sack of bricks though, I tell you. Where is everyone else?"

"Yolei took everyone else into the back room, just to be safe." Izzy explained. "What happened out there?"

"Lekismon has digivolved and is currently fighting the Deva named Karatenmon, or Digitamamon if you prefer." The rookie explained.

"Wait, what?" Kairo exclaimed, perplexed. "How exactly is it both a Karatenmon and a Digitamamon?"

"It appears he has the capability to slide digivolve between the two forms: Karatenmon being his ultimate attack form, and Digitamamon being his perfect defense mode."

"That sounds incredibly unfair…" Veemon moaned from his place in the corner of the room, the only other occupant of the main space aside from Monodramon, who was now vigilantly staring outside the shattered window.

"Veemon, you're awake!" Davis cheered and returned to his partner, leaving Coronamon with Izzy and Kairo.

"That's some power he's got there." Kairo thought while scratching his chin.

"And to make matters worse, he claims to be the third most powerful of the Devas, and the second in command of their army," the lion Digimon continued, "He bested me with a single blow from his blade."

"It doesn't sound like things are going to well for you guys out there." Izzy commented. "Kairo, I think you should send Cyberdramon out to help Lekismon."

"Wait!" Davis exclaimed as he returned with Veemon on his shoulders. "Let us go."

"I don't think that's such a good idea Davis," Izzy warned, "Your partner expended most of his energy fighting SkullSatamon. Even if he's awake he might not be fully recovered. And there's also the fact that this Deva is incredibly powerful. Flaremon was one-shotted by it."

"I can handle it!" Veemon cheered. "Come on boss, let me at 'em!"

"Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Of course!" Davis and Veemon exclaimed in unison. As they did Veemon wobbled and had to catch himself to stop from falling off his partner's shoulder.

"Relax," Veemon smiled, "I got this. Keep Cyberdramon here to protect everyone else in case Lekismon and I fail."

"If you're sure you can handle it then I won't try and stop you," Izzy complied, and with a hint of worry added: "But be careful."

"You don't have anything to worry about." Veemon nodded, and then jumped off his partner's shoulder. "Let's go Davis!" He then ran out the door with his partner on his heels.

**2:32 P.M**

"Iori!" Jeri scrambled down the sidewalk and turned sharply into the alley, looking for her friend. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found him, head first in a garbage bin with his legs sticking out, flailing.

"A little help please!" Iori's muffled voice sounded from within. Jeri dragged him out of the prison, falling backwards as Iori's body came flailing out of the trash can. "Oh god, it smelled so bad!" Iori gasped for air, crawling out onto the main street to avoid the stench of the pile of trash he had just been freed from.

"Are you alright?" Jeri inquired with concern, resting her hand on Iori's shoulder.

"I'm fine," He said as he caught his breath, "Where's Coronamon?"

"I left him with the others." Jeri explained. "He's alright, I think: just beaten and tired."

"Are the others helping against Karatenmon? Lekismon wasn't doing too well against him last time I saw."

"She digivolved to ultimate," Jeri replied, "To Crescemon. Coronamon's explaining everything to them now; they'll probably send Cyberdramon out soon."

"Hey!" A young voice, the exact opposite of Cyberdramon, sounded from behind them. Jeri and Iori turned to see Davis running up to them with Veemon by his side. "Where are Lekismon and the other guy?"

"Davis what are you doing out here?" Iori questioned.

"We came to help." Veemon answered for his partner. "Why, you gotta problem with that?"

"No offense but I was expecting Cyberdramon." Iori answered. "This Deva is incredibly strong; we need as strong a fighter as we can get to beat this guy."

"I'm plenty strong!" Veemon protested. "Let's do this Davis!"

"I'm right there with you buddy." Davis nodded, and grabbed his digivice from his pocket.

**"Veemon, warp digivolve to…"**

** 2:32 P.M**

Crescemon faced off against Karatenmon, standing at the edge of the roof with her sickle drawn. Her opponent stood on the edge opposite her, blades crossed. Both Digimon stared intensely at the other, not wanting to make the first move.

"I commend your bravery amidst such formidable odds," Karatenmon finally spoke, relaxing his arms, "Not many would be able to handle such a powerful adversary at such a low skill level as yours. Even at champion you tried your hardest to do some damage to me. Most others would have just run away."

"Our powers are not as distant as you might insinuate." Crescemon snapped back. "In case you've not realized, I am a fresh ultimate digivolution. I am much stronger at the moment than a regular inexperienced ultimate."

"That may be, but my power extends far beyond even what you've currently achieved. The activation energy required to change one of you partnered Digimon from champion to ultimate cannot match my experience."

"Even so, I'm stronger than I look. We shall see how easy this is for you." Crescemon smiled. "With that, I would like to return to the fight, if you would so please."

"I'm more than happy to oblige!" Karatenmon growled, and then pushed off the edge of the roof and sprinted towards Crescemon. The rabbit Digimon swung her sickle and shield against each other, locking them together with some hidden mechanism, and raised the new weapon up towards the armored swords master.

"Ice Archery!" A flurry of frozen arrows exploded from the space between the sickle and shield, peppering the roof and the surrounding buildings as Karatenmon dodged them. Getting closer to the lunar Digimon, Karatenmon began blocking the attack with his swords. Still, the volley didn't end, with Crescemon's weapon unleashing a continuous stream of projectiles.

"This again?" Karatenmon scoffed. "You'll have to do better than that if you hope to defeat me. These arrows may be shot stronger and more rapidly now, but they're still no match for my ultimate defense! **Karatenmon slide evolution… Digitamamon!" **The bird man changed into his defense form and closed up his shell, allowing the shards of ice to shatter harmlessly against the monstrous egg.

"Perfect." Crecemon smiled, and ended her volley, her weapon still aimed at the enemy ultimate.

"Done with that foolish attack, I see." Digitamamon laughed as he opened his shell and pushed his legs back out, standing up to face his opponent. "Perhaps we can try having a more skillful battle with a more adequate attack."

"Dark Archery!" Crescemon suddenly yelled. Her weapon then began to glow brightly, and a volley of black arrows were fired from the opening. Digitamamon in his surprise withdrew quickly into his defense. However this was exactly what Crescemon wanted. The projectiles slammed into the monster's shell, exploding on impact. Digitamamon was knocked backwards with each hit, and was eventually thrown off the roof, crashing back onto the street below.

**"Karatenmon!"** Digitamamon changed his form, stumbling as he pulled himself out of the crater that the crash had created. "What the hell was that?" He grumbled. "I didn't know she had such a powerful ability. I'll have to be more careful."

"Dark Archery!" Crescemon leapt from the rooftop and began firing explosive arrows at Karatenmon once again. The bird man rolled away to dodge, narrowly avoiding the explosion that followed once her arrows made contact with the ground.

"This is gonna be tough. I can't change into Digitamamon because those explosive blasts will devastate my defense." Karatenmon flew into the air, dodging the arrows as Crescemon landed on the ground, adjusting her aim. The Deva struggled to avoid the projectiles, trying to find an opening to close the gap between them and strike at the rabbit. He slammed into a building, running along the façade as arrows ripped through the metal in the walls and shattered the windows. The side of the building then exploded, and a pillar of smoke billowed outwards. The Deva used the smoke as cover, disappearing into the cloud, and then shot forward with the intent of catching his opponent off guard. Crescemon had the same idea however. As he burst from the smoke Crescemon appeared before him, weapon drawn.

"Dark Archery!" She yelled once more as a storm of arrows exploded from her bow-gun.

**"Slide evolution…!"** Karatenmon coated himself in white as the arrows surrounded him, attempting to defend himself. The arrowheads plunged into his body, and an ear-splitting explosion followed. Crescemon allowed the blast wave to knock her backwards, where she landed safely in the middle of the street. The Deva fell through the air and crashed into the street below. When the smoke cleared, Digitamamon's damaged body was revealed. His shell was cracked and broken, and his legs twitched.

"Crescemon!" Someone called from behind the ultimate. She turned around to see AeroVeedramon stomping towards her, having learned her name from Jeri. "Looks like you didn't need our help after all." He commented as he arrived next to her.

"He underestimated me. Thaty is all that happened." The rabbit explained. "He allowed me to take advantage of him by surprising him with an attack he was unprepared for, all because he believed he was too strong to possibly fail against me."

"Well, his mistake cost him dearly then." AeroVeedramon agreed. "Still, your victory is nothing to downplay. According to Coronamon, he was the third strongest of the Devas, a far greater opponent than anything else you've dealt with."

"How is Coronamon?" Crescemon inquired. "He was badly wounded by Karatenmon before. I haven't been able to check on him since."

"He's pretty badly injured, but he looks like he will survive." The dragon replied. "He's in there with Izzy and Kairo-"

"Look out!" Crescemon pushed the ultimate away with her powerful leg just as a sword ripped through the air, narrowly missing the pair of Digimon. The rabbit turned towards the source of the attack and saw Karatenmon, badly bruised and ruffled, standing at the edge of the crater that had formed when he had crashed to the ground a moment earlier. He charged forward, wielding his remaining blade with both hands, and swung down heavily on Crescemon.

The ultimate quickly deflected the blow with her shield, holding her ground as the sword collided with a sharp clang. Karatenmon pulled back and thrust his sword again. Crescemon once again blocked with her shield, knocking the blade away. She then swung outward with her sickle, grazing the bird man's feathers as he narrowly dodged the strike. He then thrust his sword forward once more, aiming for Crescemon's exposed forearm. The Digidestined quickly raised her shield to block. The sword bounced off the shield's edge, shooting upwards and scratching Crescemon's forearm.

"Ugh!" Crescemon grunted in pain, jumping away and nursing her arm. Karatenmon took advantage of this and barreled forward again, thrusting his sword at her stomach.

"No!" AeroVeedramon drove his shoulder into Karatenmon's side, knocking him away from Crescemon. He pummeled the monster, driving his fists into Karatenmon's face. "Take this you son of a bitch!" He roared, relentlessly pounding on the bird man. The Deva grabbed his sword and smashed at Veedramon's face with the butt of the hilt. The dramon winced in pain but didn't let up. However, the cringe gave Karatenmon enough of an opportunity to free an arm and release an uppercut into Veedramon's neck. The Digimon stumbled backwards, and the Deva jumped to his feet. He grabbed the dramon's throat and spun around, tossing Veedramon into the air. The ultimate crashed into the side of the digital gate building, which collapsed around him.

"What the hell!" Izzy exclaimed as the front wall came crashing in. Monodramon was knocked backwards and slammed into the back wall, unconscious.

"Monodramon!" Kairo abandoned his station at the digital gate and tended to his partner.

"Izzy, go hide!" Veedramon managed to proclaim before he collapsed as well.

"Veemon!" Davis ran out towards his partner.

"Davis come back!" Jeri called out to him, but the boy was unresponsive. "Dammit."

"We should go help him." Iori suggested.

"No, if we put ourselves in danger then we're just making it harder for Crescemon if she has to protect us." She reasoned.

"Ugh," Iori sighed, "You're right." He held back, but reluctantly.

"Stay away from him!" Crescemon charged at Karatenmon as he attempted to close in on the stunned dramon. The bird man heard her and twirled around, swinging his sword wildly. She caught it in the hook of her sickle and pulled Karatenmon in towards her. The Deva slipped his blade free of its trap and brought his sword crashing down on Crescemon's shoulder. The metal sliced into the rabbit's shoulder, ripping through muscle and digging into the shoulder blade. Crescemon cried out in pain, and angrily smashed her shield into her opponent's face. The blow knocked Karatenmon away, cracking his beak. He stumbled away, releasing his sword in the process, which was still embedded in the Digidestined's shoulder blade. Crescemon struggled to pull the sword out of her bone, groaning as the weapon finally dislodged itself. She dropped the blade onto the ground, heavily gasping, when she noticed that Karatenmon had abandoned the fight with her and was stumbling towards Veedramon.

"No!" She cried, and ran towards the bird. He was expecting this, however, and twirled around just as she came upon him and slammed his fist into her in the gut. Crescemon coughed violently as Karatenmon's fist dug into her stomach, dropping her sickle as she lost muscle control. The Deva then grabbed her wounded shoulder, causing the monster to cry out in pain. He gripped her tightly and tossed her into the rubble where AeroVeedramon lay motionless.

"Oh no, Crescemon!" Jeri cried, abandoning her reason and chasing after Davis.

"Hey!" Iori protested, but followed after her.

"Feather Flare!" Karatenmon stretched out his wings, and began flapping them rapidly until a whirlwind appeared, gusts blasting at the wounded Digimon.

"Veedramon!" Davis arrived and was blown away by the winds, falling into the exposed building.

"Davis, move!" Veedramon saw his partner, and with a boost of adrenaline leaped to his feet and jumped over Davis, covering him just as the true force of Karatenmon's attack was unleashed. Feathers fired like bullets from the Deva's wings, which exploded on impact with a shock wave. He poured shots into the building, watching with glee as the structure crumbled and collapsed atop the Digimon and humans inside.

"No, Coronamon!" Iori cried, running past Jeri as the girl fell to her knees.

"Crescemon…" She whimpered. Iori arrived at the remains of the building and jumped into the rubble, attempting to clear fallen pieces of debris away as the smoke cleared.

"Two left…" Karatenmon groaned as he rested his wings. He stepped slowly towards Iori as he picked up his sword.

"Karatenmon, pick up." A voice ordered from a small, barely noticeable device clipped to the Deva's belt. The bird man grabbed the device, groaning at his aching muscles, and brought the communicator to his ear.

"Karatenmon reporting. What is it master?" He inquired, suppressing the pain sounding in his voice.

"Get back to the outpost in Odaiba, quickly." The monster on the other line ordered.

"Yes sir, what's the situation?" He inquired.

"We've captured Taichi Kamiya, and I want you and Orochimon here for what comes next."

"Yes sir, I'll finish my current objective and rejoin you shortly." He answered.

"Not shortly, now!" The voice on the other end of the line commanded. "I want you in Odaiba immediately. Do not waste any time!"

"Of course. I'll be there right away. Karatenmon out." Karatenmon dropped his arm, reclipping his communicator to his belt. "It's your lucky day." He glared at Iori, who was still frantically pushing rubble out of the way. The Deva sighed, turned around, and flew away, back towards Odaiba.

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:30 P.M**

"Guilmon!" Zudomon returned to WarGrowlmon's battle just in time to see his ally crash into a damaged building, which collapsed around him. The rookie Guilmon crawled out of the rubble a second later, only to collapse onto the ground from fatigue. "No!" He ran towards the rookie, attempting to step between him and Orochimon, who was slithering towards the small Digimon.

"Stay away from him!" Zudomon lunged towards the serpent and swung his hammer into one of the monster's heads. He dragged the snake down and crushed it into the pavement. The entire head disintegrated a moment later, however Orochimon remained intact, and lashed out at the sea monster. He slammed a serpent into Zudomon's chest, knocking the Digimon backwards and onto his knees. Zudomon lost his hammer in the surprise strike.

"How…" Zudomon grunted.

"Seven heads are fake, one is real!" Orochimon hissed, wrapping himself around the Digidestined. "You took out one, another takes out you!" He constricted, closing off Zudomon's windpipe. Zudomon gasped for air, clawing desperately at his opponent's scales.

"Get off of him!" Chirinmon appeared from the skies, his horn aimed at the Deva. He ripped through one of the serpent heads that was wrapped around Zudomon's neck. The remnant of the second serpent fluttered in the wind, fading into data. Chirinmon was unprepared, however, for the third serpent head, which lashed into the air and snapped its jaws around the flying horse. Chirinmon struggled to escape, but was helpless against the tight grip of Orochimon's jaw. The serpent turned towards the alleyway where he saw the human Digidestined run and flung Chirinmon in that direction. The horse crashed into the sidewalk, body limp.

"Oh no!" Sora and Takato stopped short of the Digimon being thrown into the pavement. Sora rushed to her partner's side, trying to shake the horse awake.

"Sora, move!" Takato ran towards her and tried to pull her away, but Sora wasn't listening. Both were stuck to Chirinmon as Orochimon flipped the strangling Zudomon into the air and slammed him down into the alley, ripping apart the buildings in the process. The two opposing skyscrapers collapsed onto Zudomon, pelting him with rubble as they collided into each other. The ultimate disappeared, becoming a rookie as the building crumbled further.

"Master Orochimon!" As Orochimon was about to investigate the destruction to discover the fate of the Digidestined, the last remaining Knightmon arrived and called to him.

"What do you want? Where are the others?" The Deva barked.

"Those two Digidestined wiped them out sir. Lord Etemon wants us back in Odaiba. He's captured one of the Digidestined and wants you and Karatenmon there to witness his execution."

"What? Why?" Orochimon growled. "Why doesn't he kill the child himself?"

"I don't know sir, but Etemon is adamant that we return asap."

"Er, fine." He grumbled. "I was done here anyway. Let's move out!" Orochimon slithered down the street, with the Knightmon at his side. As they left, Guilmon lifted his head, watching them as they rounded a corner. He groaned, mumbled something incoherent, and fell unconscious once again.

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:20 P.M**

Tai, Matt, J.P., and Gaomon traveled deeper into the building, fleeing areas near windows where they could be spotted.

"This looks pretty secure." Matt led them into a room blocked off from view. They piled into the secluded office, finding places to rest on a few scattered chairs.

"Now what?" J.P. groaned.

"Now we wait." Tai replied.

"What? That's it?" J.P. exclaimed. "We're not going to do anything against these guys?"

"J.P., I'm sorry, but I can't handle two mega level Digimon by myself." Gaomon lamented. "We have to find a way to get away from these guys."

"The best way to do that is to wait for them to move on out of this immediate area." Tai continued. "Once they're a few streets away we can clear out of here, but for now we have to hole up."

"Bunch of cowards," J.P. grumbled, "bullshit."

"If you've got a better idea then let's hear it." Matt asked, glaring at the evil Digidestined. "Well, do you?" J.P. was silent.

"Good, then we stay here for a few more minutes, wait until the coast is clear, and then bolt it on foot until we're far enough out of SkullMammothmon's range to escape in the air." Tai summed up their plan. It went awry almost immediately. The earth shook and they heard a rumbling, which turned into a thunderous roar as a skyscraper outside came crashing down.

"Oh no!" Tai ripped open the door and ran down the hall, with Matt and the others in close pursuit. They all arrived at a window in time to see the building on the opposite side of the street collapsed in a pile of rubble.

"What are they doing?" J.P. cried.

"They're trying to flush us out." Matt growled.

"Kamiya!" SkullMammothmon's voice boomed from outside. "I know you're hiding in one of these buildings. If you don't come out, I will destroy each and every one of them one by one, until I force you into my sight!"

"He just wants me." Tai sighed, contemplating the Deva's words.

"Tai…" Matt stared at him.

"Come out now, and we can stop this senseless destruction! I'll destroy your entire city, building by building, until I've found you. And who knows how many of your citizens are hiding within these buildings! There could be hundreds who have found refuge! They'll all die if you don't reveal yourself to me right now!"

"How stupid does he think we are?" J.P. grunted.

"No, he's right." Tai sighed. "I have to reveal myself to them."

"What are you crazy?" Matt exclaimed.

"There's no way the Knightmon could have rounded up everyone in the city. People have to be hiding within these buildings. If they start mindlessly destroying them, then people will die." He cradled his head in his palm. "And they don't want you guys, only me. If I step outside, you all will be safe. They'll take me and leave you three to escape and find the others."

"This is insane!" Matt grabbed his friend by his shoulders. "You can't do this! They'll kill you!"

"Maybe." Tai pondered. "But I don't think Etemon will be that satisfied with just killing me on the spot. And even if he does, at least you guys will be safe. Hell, maybe he'll even leave the city alone once he's got me. I'm the one he truly wants, anyway."

"I'm good with this." J.P. shrugged.

"Hey, shut up!" Matt barked at the boy. Released from Matt's grip, Tai then began walking for the door. "Tai, no!"

"Once I go outside," Tai stopped him, "You need to get out of here as fast as possible, in case they decide to strike at the building I'm hiding in."

"You don't have to do this. We'll find another way." Matt pleaded.

"Maybe, but this way ensures the safety of anyone who might be holed up in this area. I can't take that risk. I won't let anyone else's blood be on my hands." With that, he pushed open the doors and walked outside.

"Tai, no!" Matt started after him, but J.P. grabbed his arm.

"Hey, he's right, we've gotta go." J.P. pulled him away as he ran down the hallway to the other end of the hallway.

"No, Tai!"

"Etemon, I'm over here!" Tai stood outside, standing alone on the street. His fists shook with fear and anger, but he slipped them into his pocket to hide his emotions. Mammothmon stomped into view a moment later, and Etemon jumped down from the monster's back, a wicked smile on his face.

"It's good you came to your senses boy." Etemon growled as he walked up to the teen. "I'm going to enjoy this." He then smacked Tai in the face with his palm, knocking the boy over. Etemon showed restraint, not killing Tai or knocking him unconscious, but merely knocking the wind out of him. Etemon picked the boy up and slung him over his shoulder. He then hopped back up onto Mammothmon's back. "Take out that building, it looks like he came from there," Etemon pointed to the tower adjacent to the pile of rubble he had just created, "In case his friends are inside."

"No!" Tai tried to protest, but was helpless against Etemon's grip. The mammoth reared up on hind legs and brought his forelimbs crashing into the structure before them, ripping the tower into pieces. It crumbled under the monster's weight, collapsing in on itself as Mammothmon tore through the metal and mortar with ease. Finished with the destruction, he walked away, with Etemon's prize safely stored on his back.

"No!" Tai cried in futility. "Matt!"


	28. From the Ashes

**Chapter 28: From the Ashes**

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:30 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

It had begun to rain. A torrent of water fell from the skies and pelted the ground below. Rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning accompanied the storm, perpetuated by the concentration of electrons within the digital field. The fallen building had settled, and the dust had cleared, washed away by the rain. MetalEtemon and SkullMammothmon had long since departed from the area, assuming their work there was done, having buried Matt, Junpei, and Gaomon underneath the debris. But the Digidestined would not be stopped so easily.

The pile of rubble that had been created by the destruction of the buildings began to rumble. Suddenly fragments of the former building were thrown into the air, as a small hole opened up near the edge of the mound. Gaogamon emerged, knocking debris away from him with his snout. He dipped his head down into the hole, and dragged his partner, Junpei, out by his jaws, setting the boy down gently at the edge of the crater he had just formed. He ducked down again and emerged once more with Matt dangling by his shirt, and placed him down next to the other tamer. Both boys lay unconscious, and Gaogamon struggled to stay on his feet as he clambered out of the hole.

"J.P.," The wolf groaned as he nudged the tamer with his nose. "J.P., wake up." Junpei moaned as he slowly regained consciousness, while Matt awoke from the commotion as well.

"That bastard…" Junpei growled, legs wobbling as he stood up atop the pile of rubble. "He dropped the whole goddamn building on us." Gaogamon helped the two off the pile of debris and onto the street below.

"Don't be so surprised," Matt sighed as he sat against a large piece of debris, massaging the sore muscles in his arms, "According to Tai, Etemon's one of the most unscrupulous Digimon there are. He betrayed one of his own soldiers just to get at a chance to destroy the Digidestined. It was stupid to believe he'd honor his promises."

"At least he only destroyed the building we were in," Gaogamon commented as he looked around the area, "If you were worried about the safety of anybody who might be in this area, he pretty much guaranteed it."

"For some reason I don't think Etemon's done with the city yet," Matt stood back up, brushing the dirt off of his pants, "I don't think he'll stop at Tai. Etemon wants to make an example out of every single one of us."

"Then let's go find him, and kick his ass." Junpei growled. He looked to his partner for confirmation, but the wolf's eyes drifted to the side.

"We need to regroup first." Matt reasoned. "We should find the other Digidestined, and then go after them as a group."

"Screw the others!" Junpei exclaimed. "I'm not waiting for your friends!"

"Two mega level Digimon will be difficult enough. We don't know how many Knightmon are with them, or for that matter how many of the Devas will be there. We need as many fighters as we can get."

"Strength in numbers, J.P.," Gaogamon looked at his partner, "Right now, they have it. We don't."

"Er, fine." Junpei surrendered with a sigh. "You're right, I guess…"

"Then let's move." Matt dug into his pocket and grabbed his digivice, clicking the button until the digital readout revealed the location of the rest of the Digidestined. "There are two groups of them a ways north of us, a few miles away. How fast do you think you could get us there?" He looked to the champion Digimon.

"If you hold on tight, and I run at full speed, I'll get us there in five minutes." Gaogamon answered.

"Then let's go. I'm tired of waiting." Junpei jumped onto his partner's back, with Matt quickly sliding onto the blue wolf behind him.

"Don't let go." Gaogamon ordered as he prepared to take off. Junpei rolled his eyes at his partner's command and grabbed on tightly. Gaogamon stretched out and then burst into a full run, dashing down the street towards the rest of the tamers.

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:35 P.M**

The chatter of gunfire caused Hiroaki to duck down. He didn't know where the shots had come from, but he was too afraid to risk taking a look. Keeping his body flattened, he risked tilting his head up. A ways down the street a policeman suddenly came running into view. He stumbled over, dropping his pistol.

"Hey!" Hiroaki jumped up and ran towards the man, waving to get his attention. "Officer, over here!"

"Get back!" The policeman clambered to his feet, scooping up his weapon. "Get away from here, it's not safe!" Hiroaki quickly stopped, confused by his words. His head darted to and fro, trying to ascertain the danger.

"Go!" The man yelled as the danger he had spoken of came into view. A medieval knight, taller than either Hiroaki or the police officer, marched into view, his sword slung over his shoulder. Hiroaki slowly stepped backwards, arms and legs trembling.

The policeman raised his gun, aiming for the monster's head. He fired a few shots, but the knight quickly turned his head at the sight of the man squeezing the trigger. The bullets missed his open visor and bounced off his helmet, not even denting the metal. The man tried to fire a few more rounds, but he found that his magazine was empty. He quickly released the empty clip and attempted to reload, but the knight monster came upon him and slashed at him with his sword. The blade cut deep into his shoulder, and he screamed out in pain, dropping his unloaded weapon once again.

"Oh no…" Hiroaki whispered, watching in horror as the monster ripped his blade out of the gash in the policeman's shoulder. It then jabbed it's sword into the man's stomach. Blood splattered and the man cried a horrible, blood-curdling scream, going silent a second later. The monster ripped his weapon out of the man's stomach, and his lifeless body slumped onto the ground a second later. Hiroaki covered his mouth, trying not to move, not to breath. The knight turned towards him, and he gasped in fear.

Suddenly, he heard the screeching of tires, and a van swung into view, behind the knight monster. A trio of men, covered in Kevlar, piled out of the van wielding assault rifles. They fired at the monster, pelting his armor with rapid firing rounds. The knight covered his face, the assault nothing but a nuisance to him.

"Hey!" Another armored man ran up to Hiroaki and grabbed his upper arm. "Come with me!" He ran down the road, towards the van, while the other three men kept the monster at bay. Hiroaki had almost reached the vehicle when the knight had become fed up with the gunshots. He swung his sword wildly, scaring the shooters and making them jump back. It then noticed Hiroaki and the fourth man. It jumped towards them, sword extended forward. The other man threw Hiroaki to the side and jumped away as well, the knight's sword cutting through the air where they had just stood. Hiroaki crashed onto the ground, the impact causing him to gasp. The monster heard his cry, and turned towards him. He lifted his sword into the air and dropped it down on Hiroaki, who barely rolled away in time before the metal crashed into the road.

As the Knightmon struggled to free his weapon, Hiroaki noticed the pistol belonging to the policeman, lying next to him. The fresh magazine was lying next to it. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the gun and reloaded the weapon, springing back up as he did so. The Knightmon freed his weapon just as Hiroaki came crashing into him. He jammed the nose of the gun into the monster's open visor and squeezed the trigger. One shot blasted into the monster's skull, but he didn't stop firing. Hiroaki emptied the clip into the Knight's skull, still squeezing the trigger long after he had run out of bullets. The monster dropped to its knees, letting go of its sword as it fell to the ground.

"What the hell?" He swore as the monster's armor began to break away into small white flecks. Eventually the entire monster's body broke away and flew into the sky. Hiroaki backed away, the empty gun still gripped tightly in his hand.

"That was some quick thinking." The man who had tried to save him before walked up to him, pulling off his helmet. "Their armor's impenetrable by conventional means, but their flesh is as soft and vulnerable as ours. Name's Satoshi, I'm with the Special Assault Team." He held out his hand. Hiroaki set his weapon down and grasped his palm firmly.

"What on earth was that thing?" Hiroaki inquired. "And why did it… vaporize like that?"

"We don't know what they are," Satoshi replied, "But they're all over the city. They're rounding up anyone they see and bringing them to centralized locations all over the city."

"Do they all disintegrate like that?"

"As far as we know: we've only been able to take out a few of them. Most have decimated our numbers. There were only five of us left…" He looked back towards the other three men, who were huddled around the fallen police officer. "No…" He drifted off, abandoning Hiroaki to attend to his fallen comrade.

"I'm sorry sir, he didn't make it." One of the other SAT members touched his hand to the policeman's forehead and closed the dead man's eyes.

"He was a good man." Satoshi lamented. "But we have to get going. The armory's not too far from here."

"Excuse me, but where are you going?" Hiroaki ran up to the group of men.

"We overheard a group of them talking about Odaiba. We think that's their base of operations." Satoshi explained. "We're stopping by an armory. There's armor piercing rounds there, and RPGs, which we know for a fact can take out the small ones."

"Wait: small ones? You mean there are more than just those knight things?"

"Oh yeah." Satoshi scoffed. "Listen, normally I wouldn't ask this of a civilian, but we're another man short now, and you handled that monster pretty well. We could use you down there, and I'll explain everything I know on the way."

"My son is somewhere in this city, alone." Hiroaki argued. "I need to find him."

"Pardon my abrasiveness, but if he's in the city and he's alive, he'll be in one of their human-containment centers. Our best bet in freeing the people they have locked up is figuring out what they want from us and putting a stop to it. You in?" Hiroaki thought for a second.

"Yeah, I guess I am." He nodded.

"Good, then we should move out." Satoshi ordered his remaining men.

"What about him, sir?" One of the SAT team looked down at the fallen police officer.

"Move him off the street and mark the location. We'll have to come back for him later." Satoshi replied. "This man deserves a good funeral, but first we have to get this city back under our control."

"Yes sir!" The SAT member nodded, and the three of them began executing his orders, moving the dead man off the street and onto the sidewalk. The group then piled into the van and took off towards Odaiba.

**Digital Gate**

**2:35 P.M**

Jeri cried. She tried not to, but it became overwhelming. The gravity of what had just happened finally set in, and she released the well of tears she had been holding back since they had returned to the human world. Tokyo had been invaded by a group of Digimon, the very creatures whose world she had just helped save, and one of them had just destroyed her partner, along with the closest friends she had.

"No…" She whimpered through sobs, dropping her head into her hands. The rain masked her tears, but her cries could be heard amidst the crash of thunder.

"Come on, come on…" Iori dug through the debris of the collapsed building, the abandoned store that once housed the digital gate. He pried chunks of metal and mortar off the top, throwing them to the side, away from Jeri. The rain made it harder for him. He had a difficult time grabbing the soaked fragments, and his knees and shoes slipped off the wet pieces of rubble. He began to accumulate a number of cuts and bruises as he fruitlessly dug through the carnage, begging for any sign of the Digimon that were buried beneath.

Suddenly, the mass of debris he had been working atop began to rise. Iori, stunned, barely scrambled away in time before the rocks were thrown to the side and Crescemon emerged. She was scratched and bruised, but otherwise unharmed.

"Crescemon!" Jeri raised her head upon hearing the noise and let out a squeal of relief and joy at the sight of her partner. She jumped off of the ground and ran towards the rabbit Digimon, almost slipping on the slick sidewalk. Jeri leaped off over the rubble and grasped her partner in a deep hug, squeezing the monster's chest with all her strength. Crescemon reciprocated, wrapping her right arm around the girl's back. She leaned her left hand against her hip, supporting her upper body while breathing heavily.

"It's okay Jeri, I'm fine." She breathed, comforting her partner as best as she could.

"I thought that…" Jeri couldn't finish her statement. Tears welled up again, and she began to sob once more, this time out of happiness.

"Argh!" Another pile of debris was thrown away, and this time AeroVeedramon emerged, holding Davis Motomiya in his arms. The boy's body was slumped over the Digimon's crossed arms, unconscious but breathing.

"Veedramon, are you alright?" Crescemon asked the ultimate as he shook off the rubble around his feet and climbed out of the small hole he had emerged from.

"Ugh, as good as I can be after that." AeroVeedramon tried to joke, but winced as a jabbing pain hit him in the side. "Might need to rest for a bit though." He looked around, noting who remained. "Where's everyone else?" At this, they all heard another rumbling as Cyberdramon emerged from underneath the remains of the store. He pulled out with him Izzy, Kairo, and Coronamon. The two boys hopped out of his arms while the monster set down the unconscious rookie on a level slab of brick.

"Coronamon!" Iori cried out in happiness, tripping over debris as he climbed over to his partner. He grabbed the Digimon tightly in his arms, whispering words of relief.

"Hey!" A muffled voice sounded from behind everyone. They turned back to see the back wall of the store still intact. The walls surrounding the back room had fallen over and now leaned against the back of the store. The door to the back room was pinned shut by pieces of the roof, but someone from the other side managed to push it open just enough to stick their head through. "We could use some help over here!" Yolei waved to everyone as she struggled to break free of the door.

"Everyone's okay," Jeri sighed, relief washing over her. "I can't believe it. Karatenmon's attack didn't do anything."

"It wasn't exactly a stroll in the park." Crescemon argued while Cyberdramon and AeroVeedramon made their way over to the back to help free Yolei and the others. "However Karatenmon was severely weakened from our battle. I'm not surprised that he didn't put as much strength as it may have seemed into his final attack. I was able to shield myself with my armor, while Veedramon and Cyberdramon did the same for themselves and the tamers they protected. Karatenmon's attack was also focused on Veedramon and myself, so the blast didn't even reach the back wall to do any damage."

"I'm just glad everyone's safe." Jeri slipped down to the sidewalk, wiping the rain and tears off of her face.

"Where is Karatenmon, anyway?" Crescemon asked as she joined her. "I was worried about you and Iori, but the rubble had me pinned harder than I imagined, so it took me a minute to free myself. But it seems he left you two alone and left."

"He was going to finish us off," Iori explained as he joined the two girls, "But then he got a call from someone telling him to go back to Odaiba right away."

"Hmm… I wonder why he'd be ordered to go back to Odaiba." Crescemon pondered. "Perhaps they are moving onto a further stage of their invasion."

"How you all doing?" AeroVeedramon smiled as he removed the door off of its hinges, allowing Yolei and the others to escape their cell. She rolled out of the room, followed by Kari, Jim, and Yuuko.

"Better than you it seems." Yolei answered. "What happened out here?"

"We were attacked by one of the Devas," AeroVeedramon answered, "We beat him down, but he got us in an awkward position and then tried to blow us all up. Didn't work though."

"No shit."

"Hmm…" Izzy stared up into the sky, shielding the rain from his eyes. "I wonder why the fog is still so thick." He turned to Kairo. "If Karatenmon destroyed the digital gate, then the digital field should be disappearing by now."

"Do you think it's still open somewhere else?" Kairo proposed. "Maybe your gate is open too, and keeping the digital field active and expanding."

"It is possible." Izzy nodded. "But that wouldn't make any sense. My gate was turned off. There's no way they could control mine from the other side. Someone would have had to have turned it on from here." With that they suddenly saw the debris in front of them collapse. Pieces of metal and mortar rolled and slid into a widening crater until they all vanished in a puff of smoke, revealing the sheet of plasma at the end of the digital gate fully intact, lying face up.

"Or Karatenmon could have not destroyed it at all." Kairo responded. "Damn that thing is sturdy. I do good work."

"I don't doubt your construction skills, but it's possible the connection is keeping the gate together." Izzy suggested. "Since it is being run from the other side, it might not need the local power source to stay open, and the portal itself might have kept the ring from being ripped apart."

"Yeah," Kairo agreed, a hint of annoyance in his voice, "You might be right."

"Hey, Izzy!" A familiar voice called from afar. Izzy turned his head, looking down the street. He saw Gaogamon running down the road through the rain, with two teenage boys on his back. The champion skidded to a stop in front of the destroyed store, where Junpei jumped off his back, revealing who was behind him.

"Matt!" Izzy exclaimed, overjoyed at the sight of his fellow tamer. He scrambled off of the debris pile and met up with his friend. Yolei and Kari joined him, also excited to see their old friend.

"How are you guys?" Matt smiled weakly, shaking Izzy's hand and giving Yolei and Kari a group hug.

"I can't believe you're here," Yolei smiled, "What are you doing in Tokyo?"

"I moved here, but we can talk about that later." His face became solemn.

"Where's Tai?" Yuuko asked with a broken voice, walking up to Junpei. "He was with you, wasn't he?"

"Er…" Junpei avoided her gaze, "Listen lady, I'm sorry but-"

"Etemon took him." Matt blurted out. "He and Mammothmon threatened to destroy all the buildings in the area and anyone hiding in them if he didn't come out, so Tai complied to spare our lives and anyone else that might have escaped the Knightmon."

"No…!" Yuuko tried to cry out, but her voice disappeared. She backed away, gasping for words, and dropped to the ground, leaning against a brick slab. Kari went to her side to comfort her.

"Don't worry Mom, we'll find him." Kari grabbed her mother's hands and held them tightly, but Yuuko just stared forward, unresponsive to her daughter's words.

"We need to regroup and go after them." Matt continued. "There's no telling what Etemon's going to do to Tai once he gets to Odaiba." His words slapped Yuuko like a palm to the face, and she whimpered once again.

"I agree Matt, but what if that's exactly what Etemon wants us to do?" Izzy argued. "We could be walking straight into a trap."

"That's a risk we'll have to take." Iori said as he stood to his feet, a look of determination on his face. "I'm not going to let anything happen to Tai. He's our friend. Regardless of whether or not it's a trap, we need to save him."

"He's right." Crescemon agreed. "Of course, we should formulate a plan before we go charging in."

"I'm ready to fight! Right Davis?" AeroVeedramon pumped his fist into the air.

"Yeah, let's go!" Davis nodded his head, throwing his fist into the air along with his partner.

"Understood. But as much as it pains me to say it, we can't all go." Izzy explained. "Some of us should stay here to watch the digital gate and report to the others if anything weird happens here."

"Who will stay?" Yolei asked, glaring at Izzy as she already knew the answer.

"Everyone without a partner should stay here." His statement met with a mass of protests. Izzy calmly quieted everyone down, and then continued. "We'll only be in the way if we all go. The Digimon can't afford to protect us while they're fighting against Mega levels. Only the Digimon and their immediate partners can afford to enter this battle." He looked around the group, seeing signs of discontent, but the general atmosphere was agreement. He looked to Matt, who looked especially displeased. "That means you too, Matt."

"What? No!" Matt barked. "I'm not waiting around here while someone else fights my battle for me."

"We don't have a choice, Matt!" Izzy screamed back. "We're just getting in the way at this point! We're only going to put ourselves and the Digimon in more danger by going, and you know it!"

"He's right Matt," Yolei said solemnly, interrupting the argument between the two boys, "We have to face the facts. Right now, we're glorified cheerleaders. We need to stay where we are most useful." She pointed to the digital gate. "Right now, that's here, dealing with this thing. We need to dig it out and see if there's anything left of the computer, or any way to hook up another interface to it so we can find a way to shut it down."

"But- but- Tai's our friend! How can you be so willing to just sit here and hide while he's been captured and subjected to god-knows-what at the hands of Etemon?"

"You think any of us want to stay here?" Izzy growled. "Listen, I want nothing more than to march back into Odaiba and help Tai myself. And if Terriermon were here, nothing would stop me from doing just that! But he's not here, and because of that my usefulness ends at the keyboard! There are other humans who have to go, to support their partners, and they can do anything that we would do!" He pointed to Iori and Jeri. "If there's a large group of us, we'll end up getting in the way. If anything should happen to us the Digimon could get unnecessarily hurt trying to protect us! They have a responsibility to their own partners. We can't divide their attention like that! We can't expect them to be able to devote their attention to protecting their partners, us, and defeat Etemon and Mammothmon all at the same time!"

"But I can't just… leave him there…" Matt sighed, struggling to argue while slowly understanding his defeat.

"We're wasting time." Crescemon, who was leaning against the debris, finally stood up. "We need to go now. Jeri, Coronamon, Iori, and the other two," She nodded to Junpei and Gaogamon, "Will go and regroup with Guilmon's group. Kairo and Cyberdramon: you two should find some food for us Digimon. It'll help us recover our strength so we may be prepared for the battle ahead."

"Sounds like a plan." Kairo nodded. "Cyberdramon, let's go find a grocer or something." He swung himself onto his partner's back, and the dramon stretched his wings outward and took off down the road.

"Crescemon, why don't you degenerate and conserve some energy?" Jeri suggested to her partner.

"That's probably not the best idea." Kari protested. "Crescemon still has an extra boost from the activation energy due to it being the first time she digivolved to ultimate. If she de-digivolves, and then digivolves again later, she won't be as strong as she is now."

"Kari is correct." Crescemon agreed. "As tired as I am now, I still have more strength at the moment then I will the next time I digivolve. Besides, when I eat I will regain strength."

"If we're doing this, then let's get a move on already, I'm sick and tired of waiting!" Junpei said angrily. "I want back at these guys, ain't that right Gaogamon?"

"Damn straight." Gaogamon nodded. "Now that we've got some backup I'm ready to kick some ass."

"Can we get a ride?" Iori asked Junpei as he hoisted up his partner.

"Yeah, sure." Junpei shrugged as he hopped onto his partner's back. He helped Iori climb up as well, as Crescemon helped Jeri onto her shoulder.

"Let's move." Crescemon ordered.

"Good luck." Izzy nodded, while Matt stood next to him grumbling angrily.

"Please," Yuuko ran up to the rabbit, grasping her wrist, "Bring my husband and my son back safe."

"I will do my best." Crescemon nodded, and with that, she took off down the road towards where Takato's group had gone. Gaogamon bolted after her, his passengers holding onto his fur tightly.

"This isn't right." Matt complained once more. "We should have gone with them. If anyone of us had been captured, Tai would be the first to go after them."

"It doesn't matter now." Kari said as she walked with her mother to sit back down. "We're here, so let's make the most of it."

"Let's get to work." Izzy commanded.


	29. As Forces Gather

**Chapter 29: As Forces Gather**

**File Island**

**Digital World**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

Arkadimon surveyed the destruction atop File Island, rapping his claws against the earth in dissatisfaction. Leormon circled the imploded building, his face solemn.

"He really was unsuccessful," Leormon shook his head, "Such a pity."

"More than a pity," Arkadimon growled, "What are we supposed to do now?" He scurried towards the crater, teetering on the edge as he peered down into its smoldering depths. "Henry held the dark data that we needed in order to complete the ritual! Without him, we cannot find the Digimon that he infected, nor can we use his own data in place of it!"

"It cannot be impossible to find this infected Digimon." Leormon tried to reason. "Henry said he put enough dark energy into that Digimon to corrupt it twice over! It must be out there somewhere, festering in darkness."

"It doesn't matter; we'll never find it now." Arkadimon lamented. "There exist now only four dark Digimon on this plane: you, me, Dobermon, and the Digimon that Henry infected. That means that our only option was to find the infected one. Without him, and without Henry to infect another Digimon, there's nothing available to complete the ritual."

"And without our former powers, there's no way for us to travel to another plane and attempt to find a dark Digimon somewhere else." Leormon nodded, grasping the finality of their situation.

"We've failed. There's no choice but to return to Dobermon and let him know." Arkadimon determined. "It will be his choice whether he wants to continue looking for that infected Digimon in our place."

"Perhaps we could use ourselves as a sacrifice." Leormon proposed. Arkadimon's eyes widened at the Digimon's proposition. "If we time it right, we could unleash our powers before our data cores slip into the data stream."

"Don't be foolish Leormon, that'll never work." Arkadimon glared. "We'd never be able to complete the ritual before we died."

"Er, you're probably right." Leormon sighed. "I just thought it might be worth looking into."

"Nonsense," Arkadimon scoffed, "We'll find some other way. For now, we regroup and locate Dobermon."

"Very well." Leormon accepted, and the two abandoned the mountain peak, leaving the smoldering crater behind. As their backs turned they failed to notice as a small patch of the rubble began to twitch.

**Real World**

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:35 P.M**

"Oh no!" Sora and Takato stopped just before Chirinmon was thrown into the pavement. Sora rushed to her partner's side, trying to shake the horse awake.

"Sora, move!" Takato ran towards her and tried to pull her away, but Sora wasn't listening. Both were next to Chirinmon as Orochimon flipped the choking Zudomon into the air and slammed him down into the alley, ripping apart the buildings in the process.

"Get out of there!" Joe yelled as he stood helpless with Susumu at the other end of the alley. Takato and Sora were trapped, but fortunately Chirinmon finally awoke amidst the pleas. He quickly lifted his body off of the ground, threw Takato and Sora onto his back with his wings, and flew away down the alley. As the buildings came down, Chirinmon dipped down and nabbed Joe and Susumu as well, clenching their collars in his mouth. He took the group to safety a few streets away as the two buildings collapsed upon Zudomon. Joe turned his head away, unable to look at the devastation his partner had just experienced. Chirinmon landed and unloaded his passengers, who all took a minute to catch their breaths.

"Okay, we have to go back." Takato finally spoke. "WarGrowlmon and Zudomon are in trouble. They need our help."

"He's right, let's move." Joe agreed.

"Wait," Chirinmon cautioned, "I'll go survey the area first. Stay here for a minute." The winged horse took off into the skies, returning to the battle.

"Those Devas are so strong." Sora commented as the group waited. "Zudomon obliterated those Knightmon, but Orochimon was able to overpower all three of our partners."

"The Devas are some of the oldest and most powerful Digimon in the digital world." Joe explained. "The fact that we were able to defeat three of them already was just dumb luck. Zudomon happened to find the weakest one, AeroVeedramon had a surprise attack that SkullSatamon couldn't compensate for, and god knows how MachGaogamon was able to luck sack his way out of his fight with Hisyarumon."

"So what are you saying?" Takato asked. "Are you telling us that the remaining Devas are too strong for us to defeat?"

"Maybe," Joe thought, "Orochimon easily kicked our ass, and the other Devas that we know of are at the Mega level. I'm not saying it's impossible but it's going to be incredibly difficult."

"He's coming back." Susumu pointed into the sky. Chirinmon appeared before them and landed in the street just as it began to rain.

"Orochimon has fled. He and the remaining Knightmon have gone; they must think that we have all been defeated." Chirinmon explained.

"Good, then let's get over there quickly!" Joe urged. Chirinmon allowed the group to climb onto his back, and although it was a tight fit, he was able to support everybody. The Digimon leaped into the air and flew across the sky back to the scene of the battle. He landed in the middle of the street, where his passengers unloaded themselves.

"Zudomon!" Joe called out as he ran towards the pile of debris in between the two fallen buildings.

"Guilmon!" Takato looked around desperately for his partner.

"Takato…mon…" A voice struggled from the sidewalk. Takato smiled at the sight of the rookie, who was lying on the ground in front of the destroyed tower. Takato ran over to him and helped the Digimon to his feet. The dinosaur struggled to stand up, failed, and dropped back to the ground again.

"Guilmon, are you alright?" He hugged his partner's neck.

"I'll be fine Takatomon, just as soon as I get some food." The Digimon groaned.

"Zudomon, are you in there?" Joe yelled at the edge of the pile of rubble, looking for any sign of his partner. A few slabs of brick shook and then fell loose as Gomamon crawled out of the wreckage, rolling down the slope into his partner's arms. "Hey, you made it."

"I'm gonna kick that sonofabitch's ass," Gomamon groaned, "Just you wait…"

"Alright then, what now?" Sora asked as the three Digdestined partners came together along with Susumu.

"We'll go back to the others and get these two some rest," Joe answered, indicating to Gomamon and Guilmon.

"What about my son?" Susumu glared at the lanky teen.

"We'll have to wait until the Digimon are healed." Joe answered. "After that we can go back and find him."

"Maybe we don't have to wait," Sora proposed, "Chirinmon is still at full strength. We could go and regroup with Tai while you two get your partner's rested up."

"I'm going with you. I won't wait around, not knowing whether or not he's safe." Susumu said, determined not to be left behind.

"We can both go." Sora agreed. "With Chirinmon, we can easily fly out of the range of any Digimon that might pose a threat to us. We'll meet up with Tai and bring him back to the digital gate."

"Takatomon," Guilmon tugged at his partner's shirt sleeve, "I need to tell you something really important."

"What is it boy?" Takato inquired, turning away from the main conversation.

"I saw Orochimon and Knightmon leave, and I overheard them talking. They said that Etemon had captured one of the Digidestined, and wanted them to return to Odaiba immediately."

"What? They captured one of them?" Takato exclaimed in alarm.

"Who could they have gotten?" Joe scratched his head. "We were all in groups." He pulled out his digivice. "Yeah, one of the digivices is way down south, separated from the rest of us. There are two separate groups of signals, along with a single digivice signal in this area. A group of three is heading our way." At that, they felt a strong breeze, and a pair of Digimon zipped into view. A large wolf Digimon with two humans on his back, along with a tall armored rabbit carrying another human, bolted towards them, grinding to a halt a few seconds after they appeared.

"Takato, Sora!" Jeri dropped down off of her partner's back and greeted her friends. "What happened here?"

"We got into a fight with one of the Devas, Orochimon." Takato explained. "Gomamon and Guilmon are pretty beat up, but we managed to free all of the humans that they were escorting and escape without any major problems." Jeri, puzzled, looked over at the two towers that were leaning against each other. "Other than that." Takato added.

"Listen guys, we've got bigger problems right now." Iori slipped off of Gaogamon's back, holding his unconscious partner. "Tai's been kidnapped by Etemon!"

"What?" Susumu roared, pushing past Joe and Sora. "What happened to him?" He glared at Junpei.

"Your son gave himself up so that me and another kid could get away." Junpei answered, returning the glare with the same intensity. "If it weren't for him, Etemon and Mammothmon would have gone on a rampage, destroying all the buildings in the area, and killing any people that may have been hiding in them."

"So Tai's the one who they took to Odaiba." Joe sighed. "Alright then, what's the plan now?" Joe looked at the three newcomers. "Our Digimon are tired, they need food to recover."

"That is being taken care of as we speak." Crescemon answered for him. As if he heard the call, Cyberdramon swooped into view, carrying a handful of grocery bags in his arms. He landed amongst the group, dropping his cargo, as his partner Kairo slipped off of his back holding a few more bags.

"We brought food!" Kairo said gleefully.

"Do I smell bread?" Guilmon cheered, bolting for the bags of food as if he were already fully recovered.

"Do not hog it all, you brutish dinosaur!" Coronamon, now wide awake, jumped out of Iori's arms and began struggling with Guilmon for first rights to the pile.

"Go ahead Gomamon, eat up." Joe set his partner down, who gladly scuffled over to the piles of food and began eating. Crescemon joined them, leaning over the group to shield them all from the rain.

"Do you not want anything, Chirinmon?" Sora asked her partner.

"I am at full strength still," Chirinmon answered, "Better to let those who are tired eat their share so that they may be able to fight later." Cyberdramon and Gaogamon nodded in agreement.

"There are seven of us." Takato observed as he swept his eyes across the group. "How many Devas are left?"

"The Deva that I fought made it clear that a number of them didn't survive the power struggle that placed Etemon in charge," Crescemon explained, "He said that they lost five Devas, and replaced the three that still disagreed with Etemon with three new ones."

"We've taken out three already." Joe began to count. "Minotarumon, Hisyarumon, and SkullSatamon."

"And if you guys just fought Orochimon," Iori continued, "And we just fought Karatenmon, then including Etemon and Mammothmon that makes seven."

"So they lost five previously, leaving seven remaining to come invade the human world. That means the four that we know of should be the only four left." Joe determined.

"Unless they've recruited new Devas since that battle, and Karatenmon just neglected to mention them," Jeri warned.

"That's possible, but we should operate with the information we have. We know for sure of four of the Devas left. That means there will be at least four when we get to Odaiba, in addition to an unknown number of Knightmon."

"Don't worry about those Knightmon," Gomamon turned away from the pile of food to join in on the conversation, "They're no match for me."

"Gaogamon and I can also easily deal with multiple numbers of them." Cyberdramon spoke.

"I don't think there's any sense talking strategy until we know exactly what we're up against." Takato argued. "We need to get down there and do some reconnaissance."

"Takato is right," Crescemon agreed, "Once we've surveyed the area and have a full take on the situation, and then we can come up with a plan." She gulped down her last bite of food. "And I think we are all ready to move now, wouldn't you say?" She looked down to the rookies by her feet, which had all but obliterated the food pile in front of them. Crescemon had made sure to save one bag for the other three Digimon.

"We should get going then." Susumu spoke up. "If your Digimon partners are fully recovered then we're just wasting time standing here."

"Mr. Kamiya, I'd like to ask you one more time if you'll please go back with the others, and let us handle this." Joe pleaded.

"Absolutely not: I'm going with or without you lot." He stood firm.

"Very well then," Joe sighed, "We need some transportation. Gaogamon, can you digivolve and take a number of us over there?" Joe turned to the wolf Digimon, who nodded.

"I can too." Guilmon added. "As WarGrowlmon I can take most of you with me."

"Chirinmon," Crescemon turned to the newly digivolved monster, "Make sure not to degenerate until after the battle. We need the extra digivolution energy you've received for this battle."

"Of course," Chirinmon nodded.

"Okay then, I'll go with Chirinmon." Sora jumped up onto her partner's back. The Pegasus whinnied and stretched out his wings.

"I can fit one more." The Digimon looked down at Susumu. "Mr. Kamiya, would you still like to ride with us?"

"That sounds… fine." Susumu nodded a little nervously. He grabbed Sora's outstretched hand and hoisted himself onto the Digimon's back.

**"Gaogamon digivolve to… MachGaogamon!" **The champion wolf Digimon changed form, becoming the bipedal mecha-wolf once again. He kneeled, allowing a number of the group to climb aboard his back.

**"Guilmon, warp digivolve to… WarGrowlmon!"** Guilmon did the same, becoming his ultimate form and then leaning onto the ground in order for passengers to board him. Takato, Jeri, Crescemon, Iori, and Coronamon joined with WarGrowlmon while Junpei, Kairo, Cyberdramon, Joe, and Gomamon climbed up on top of Gaogamon. The three ultimates then climbed into the air, and took off back towards Odaiba.

**Digital Gate**

**2:40 P.M**

Izzy kneeled on top of the pile of debris, slowly removing the rocks around him. He tossed them into the crater surrounding the digital gate, where they quickly vaporized upon contact. He, Matt, and Yolei were clearing the rubble around the digital gate, trying to access the ground below and find out if any more components had remained intact. The process was difficult, and was only aided by the ease with which the gate helped to remove unwanted pieces of stone. They stayed a few feet away from the crater, as the rain made the surface slippery and a single misstep would spell doom for anyone caught near the rippling pool of electrically-charged plasma.

"Are you guys sure you don't need my help?" Jim called from the sidelines. They had asked him to wait there, as his broken leg could prove to be a liability.

"It's fine Jim!" Yolei called out to him. "Too many cooks in the kitchen, you know?" She tried to console him, but the man just waved her off, turning around and limping away on his crutches. "Hey, where are you going?"

"On a walk," Jim replied, "I'll be back in a bit."

"I hope we didn't hurt his feelings." Yolei sighed.

"I'm sure he understands." Izzy said. "We all have our limits and sometimes we just have to accept them and move on, and help out where we can." He looked over to see Matt glaring at him. "Do you have something to say, Matt?"

"I'm not okay with this," He grunted as he tossed another brick into the vaporizing pit, "And no matter what you say I still won't be. I feel like I'm abandoning my friends by sitting here."

"It was the right thing to do and you know it Matt," Izzy snapped back, "We can't do much more for the rest of the team than what we're doing right now."

"And what are we doing right now?" Matt yelled, grasping a small brick in his hand. "We're cleaning up trash!" He threw the brick into the crater, where it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"We're not just cleaning up trash Matt." Yolei defended Izzy. "This machine is important. If we can figure out how to turn it off, the Devas and all of their minions will lose their power. The city will be safe."

"Is it even possible to turn this thing off?" Matt inquired. "What were you guys doing here before you were ambushed by the Deva?"

"We were working on it." Izzy grumbled. "The system is complex, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a solution."

"So you work on it!" He stood up, pointing at the circle. "In the meantime, I should be out there, helping our friends!"

"And what exactly are you going to do Matt?" Izzy barked back. "Are you going to fight? There's nothing weaker than an ultimate level in the employ of Etemon, are you going to punch one until it surrenders?"

"I'm not saying I want to go in without a plan, or just start blindly attacking things that are way too strong for me to fight, but there has to be something more productive than this!" He stomped his foot, but the sole of his shoe slipped on the wet surface. He fell forward, head first towards the portal.

"Matt!" Izzy and Yolei screamed, lunging towards the boy to stop him from descending towards an early grave. Matt fell stomach first onto the sloping debris and began to slide towards the gate. Izzy reached him first and grabbed the boy's leg, bracing himself against an upturned piece of the ceiling. Yolei grabbed Matt by his shirt, and together, the two of them pulled the tamer out of the hole, the three of them falling backwards to safety. They sat there for a minute, breathing heavily.

"Maybe… there is… something else we could do." Izzy breathed heavily.

"What's that?" Matt inquired in between breaths.

"It's just an idea that I had… but the other gate… the one that I built," He wiped the sweat off of his forehead, "I could try and use it to disrupt the signal between this gate and the other side." The group made their way to the edge of the debris pile and onto the safety of the sidewalk.

"Didn't you try to get the other gate to work already, and it wouldn't turn on?" Yolei asked.

"I couldn't get a connection before, but if I do some modifications… it just might work." Izzy answered.

"Where's the other gate?" Matt inquired.

"Back in Odaiba."

**Streets of Tokyo**

**2:45 P.M**

"Too many cooks in the kitchen, what a joke…" Jim grumbled as he made his way down the street. He decided to find some food, and headed for the grocer that Kairo had gone to before he had left. Kari and her mother had gone that way as well to gather some supplies, and had yet to return.

"They could at least have the decency to tell me that they don't want me to get in the way." He looked down at his leg and sighed. Though he hadn't voiced it, he felt the same way as Matt. His brother had gone out there to face some terrible monster from another dimension, and there wasn't anything Jim could do about it. Even if his leg wasn't broken, he'd still be inhibited by the fact that he wasn't a Digidestined and that he didn't know anything about the creatures called Digimon.

He wanted to be more helpful, but Yolei's characterization of them as glorified cheerleaders was an understatement. Jim couldn't inspire his brother in any way. He had always wondered why Joe was so focused on trying to save everybody, and now he knew: Joe was a member of a fighting force that protected the real and digital worlds from evil.

"Jim, what are you doing here?" Jim had arrived at the grocer, and Kari had just walked out carrying a bag of food.

"Yeah, I was just going out for a walk." Jim shrugged.

"What a great day for a walk," Kari said sarcastically, giving him a disbelieving look, "Something on your mind?" Before he could answer they heard the screeching of tires. A van appeared, barreling down the road. It screeched past the two, slowed down, and then rolled back towards them.

"You kids need to get out of the street," A man leaned out of the vehicle, covered in Kevlar armor, "It's dangerous out here."

"We know sir," Kari nodded, "We're just getting some supplies."

"Even so you should get out of here as fast as possible," the man suggested, "I'd suggest you hole up in that grocery store now before any of those monsters show up."

"Don't worry sir, there aren't any Digimon around here," Jim reassured him, "They cleared out of the area a while ago."

"Jim!" Kari warned, the man unaware of the mistake he had made.

"Digimon?" The man in the van questioned. "What the hell is that?"

"Oh," Jim sighed. The man pushed the door open and slipped out of the vehicle, grabbing Jim's shoulders and pulling him closer.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about those creatures, right now!"

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**3:00 P.M**

Etemon stood at the base of a collapsed store. Mammothmon had destroyed the two story structure so that the mountain of rubble could be created. At the top, a Knightmon carried a large steel bar over his shoulder, and was walking it towards the center.

"Sir, Karatenmon and Orochimon have arrived." Another Knightmon walked up and reported.

"Good, now have a squadron take all the prisoners up onto the roof." Etemon ordered him. "I want them to get a good view of this."

"Yes sir." The Knightmon nodded, and began walking across the street towards the convention center.

"What are you planning on doing?" Tai risked asking the metal primate. The teen was standing next to his captor, his hands handcuffed behind his back.

"So good of you to ask," Etemon chuckled, "I'm going to make an example out of you to your people."

"You know my friends will never let that happen, right?" Tai said in a snippy tone.

"Of course, I'm counting on it." Etemon replied as the Knightmon on top of the mound jammed the steel bar into the rubble, hammering down until it was locked in place. "Come…" Etemon pushed the boy forward. Tai reluctantly began walking up the slope.

"What are you counting on?" Tai continued questioning the Digimon.

"Your friends will come for you, naturally," Etemon smiled wickedly. They reached the top of the mound, where Etemon grabbed the keys to the handcuffs and unlocked them. He then forced Tai's arms around the back of the pole and re-handcuffed him. "And when they do, my soldiers will be waiting for them. They'll never be able to handle the sheer number of Knightmon who will be waiting for them, as well as my Devas."

"You're a monster."

"I've simply done what was necessary for the protection of the digital world." Etemon growled. "You and your friends have caused irrevocable damage to my home, and now I'm going to make you all pay for it. And after I'm done your entire world will understand never to interfere with the digital world again."

"You're wrong, Etemon. I don't know how many times we can tell you, we're not the enemies of the digital world!"

"You could repeat it a thousand times, but I'll never believe your lies." The mega level hissed. "Your comeuppance has finally come, Taichi Kamiya. It's time for you to feel the wrath of the thousands of Digimon who have fallen victim to your destructive ways." He walked away, heading down the slope of the pile of debris. "Guard him!" He ordered the Knightmon, who had remained on top of the hill after placing the steel bar.

"You can't stay blind forever!" Tai yelled down to him. "We'll stop you, no matter what it takes!"

"I'd like to see you try."


	30. The Guilty Party

**Chapter 30: The Guilty Party**

**Digital Gate**

**2:45 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

"How are we going to get to Odaiba?" Matt asked Izzy after the boy had just revealed the location of the other digital gate. "We don't have any means of transportation without the Digimon."

"We'll have to find something." Izzy pondered, looking around the area. "Maybe if we had a car…"

"If we can find one, I can hot-wire it." Yolei suggested.

"That's a good idea." Izzy nodded. "You just have to make sure to find one big enough for the six of us."

"That'll be difficult in this city." Matt warned.

"If we want any chance of getting down to the other digital gate in time for it to make a difference, it's our only choice." Izzy responded. "You and Yolei should go look for a vehicle. There's one more thing I want to check on here, and if it doesn't work, then the gate down at the apartment complex is our best bet."

"Alright, we'll be back as soon as we can." Yolei nodded, grabbed Matt's arm, and dragged him down the street.

"Where did you learn how to hot-wire a car?" Izzy heard Matt ask the girl as they disappeared down the street. Izzy then turned his attention back towards the debris piled up before him. He climbed up the mound of brick and mortar and made his way back to the periphery of the digital gate. He carefully began pushing pieces of debris into the portal's event horizon, where they disintegrated upon contact.

Izzy did this until he had made it to the floor underneath the pile of rubble. He checked a few locations, finally locating the power cord connected to the digital gate. The segment he found was still intact, and while he couldn't be sure that the entire cord was fully connected, neither could he be sure it wasn't, so something was to be gained from performing his experiment.

There were multiple scenarios: the cord was still connected, which could be what was allowing the digital gate to remain in operation, or the cord had been severed and something else was keeping the gate open. If he were to sever the cord from the gate, he would be able to determine the power source keeping the gate open. If the gate shut off, that would mean that the power cord wasn't severed in the collapse of the store, which would also mean the feed from the digital world would be cut off as well, causing the Devas to lose their power. If severing the power cord did not shut off the gate, then that would mean that the portal was being powered from somewhere else, regardless of whether or not the power cord had already been severed.

Kairo had been hesitant to attempt to cut the power cord back when the building was standing properly. He didn't want to cause any unnecessary complications that could have an adverse effect on the either the digital gate or the people in the building with it. However with everyone else gone form the area, Izzy felt it was safe to attempt to shut down the gate in this violent manner, especially considering the computer was inaccessible and he could no longer try and use it to attempt a less brash shutdown of the portal.

Izzy shoveled debris out of the way until he had prepared a safe work area, one where he would not be at risk of accidentally falling into the digital gate. He pushed more debris towards the periphery of the portal until there was a wall between him and the gate, allowing him access to a newly exposed part of the power cord. This segment was also still intact.

"I hope this works." Izzy murmured. He grasped a heavy piece of rubble with a serrated edge and held it high above his head. Then, with the aid of gravity, he slammed it down into the power cord. The jagged rock tore through the thick wiring, embedding itself about halfway through the cord. Sparks crackled at the open wound as Izzy ripped the rock out of the cord, and repeated the process. He lifted his tool high once again and slammed it down into the tear. This time the piece of rubble sliced all the way through the cord. Electricity spewed from both ends, and Izzy jumped out of the hole he had dug to escape a potential burn. He watched the severed location on the cord, and the portal, waiting for some sort of reaction. Nothing happened. Izzy tapped his foot anxiously for a few minutes, staring intensely at the gate, hoping desperately for something to change, to no avail.

"I guess that was a bust." He murmured to himself, admitting defeat. The tamer solemnly scrambled over the debris pile back to the sidewalk, where he heard the hum of a motor down the road. "Did they find a car already?" Izzy pondered, searching for the sound of the noise. He was confused to see a van slowly approaching from the opposite direction that Matt and Yolei had gone. He then noticed that Kari was running alongside the vehicle, waving at him.

"Izzy!" The girl called.

"What the hell?" Izzy scratched his head, and ran forward to meet them. "Kari, what's going on?" He inquired as the two met.

"Me and Jim ran into some police officers," Kari explained as the van stopped and a man suited in Kevlar exited from the driver's seat, "and we sort of let the "cat out of the bag" about us knowing about Digimon."

"This girl said your group knows about these creatures." The man walked up and held out his hand. Izzy grasped it firmly and shook. "My name is Satoshi. I need you to tell me everything you can about these creatures so we can mount a successful counter attack."

"It's not that simple officer," Izzy answered, "You can't fight the Digimon with conventional weapons."

"We understand that these creatures are formidable." Satoshi replied. "Over the past day I've had more than enough skirmishes with those knight things to know how difficult they are to kill. Normal bullets bounce off of their armor as if we were shooting bb pellets. But we've managed to take down a few through some close combat techniques combined with small arms fire by getting past their armor and going right for their flesh." He looked back at his van, where the man sitting in the passenger seat was watching their exchange, his fingers drumming along the front console.

"Listen, I know you won't want to hear this coming from a kid, but it would be better off if you just stayed out of the way. You can't handle these things." Izzy tried to warn.

"Now son, I can see that you know a lot about these things. The fact that you know what they're called tells me that. But please, we can't afford to be stingy with intelligence right now. Any information you can give us could mean the difference between life and death for me and my men."

"Er…" Izzy scratched the back of his neck, "Come with me." He nodded his head over to the ruins of the store.

"Come out!" Satoshi signaled to his vehicle. The man in the front seat stepped out of the vehicle, followed by three more men suited in Kevlar. They all followed Izzy over the broken rock and metal to the digital gate.

"What the hell is this?" Satoshi asked, his mouth agape, as he stared down at the sheet of plasma surrounded by the broken debris.

"This is the digital gate," Izzy began to explain; "It's what we used to travel between our world and the digital world. That's where the Digimon came from."

"Digital: you mean as in computers?" The man who had been sitting in the front seat with Satoshi asked. "These things are robots?"

"If they were robots there wouldn't be any flesh under all that armor." One of the other soldiers scoffed.

"Maybe they're androids; you know, like human-robot hybrids, or something like that." Another soldier chimed in, snickering.

"Let the boy speak." Satoshi growled, glaring at the two men. They quickly dropped their smiles, their eyes darting away from Satoshi's gaze.

"They're not robots or androids," Izzy said irritably, "well, not all of them at least. The digital world is a parallel universe to ours, connected via data streams from our telephone and internet networks. The creatures that live there are called Digimon. They're sentient creatures who take on forms based off of the data that is sent over by our world. They live and grow at an accelerated rate and change form given enough energy."

"That's ridiculous!" One of the soldiers yelled. "What sort of fairy tale is this?"

"I said be quiet!" Satoshi barked. The man cringed and backed away. Satoshi turned back to Izzy. "Pardon my soldier's rudeness, but he is correct. What you are telling me sounds like nothing more than fiction." Izzy thought for a second, trying to think of a way to prove to him that what he was saying was the truth.

"There's nothing I can do right now to prove to you that what I'm telling you is real." Izzy finally admitted. He then bent down and grabbed a small piece of debris, and threw it into the portal. The four soldiers gasped as the rock disintegrated. "The only thing I can tell you is that not all or even most of the Digimon are at fault for this. Even the Digimon who are in this city now are only attacking us because they've been misled by an evil Digimon named Etemon. He's far more powerful than any of the others that are here, and he won't be as easy for you to defeat as the Knightmon were. There are some Digimon here in our world that are on our side though. They've partnered with some other humans and are heading to Odaiba now to stop Etemon from-"

"Did you say Odaiba?" Satoshi interrupted him. "Through our intelligence gathering we discovered that Odaiba may be the base of operations for these 'Digimon'."

"It is." Izzy replied. "Etemon and the rest of the Devas, the group of Digimon that attacked our city, are in Odaiba right now. Our friends are going there to stop them. If you take nothing else from what I've just told you then hear this: if you go to Odaiba, there will be Digimon on your side, trying to save the city."

"I see." Satoshi scratched his beard, deep in thought. "Very well: at least some of the information you've given us correlates to the intelligence we've gathered. I won't attest to believing this 'digital world' idea but I won't discount it either. Thank you for your input."

"Of course," Izzy nodded.

"Alright, let's move out." Satoshi turned around and started back towards the van.

"Sir, you don't really believe that Digimon nonsense, do you?" One of the soldiers asked him quietly.

"I won't pretend to be swayed by it, but none of the information that he's given us do we know to be explicitly untrue. And after the last couple of days I've had, I'm not willing to discount anything." He looked up into the sky. "Tokyo is covered by an impenetrable fog, and monsters are running rampant all over the city. That kid has given us an explanation for it." The group piled into the car. "And whether or not his explanation is true, that's a matter for another time. Right now, we need to follow up on this Odaiba lead." Satoshi leaned out of the window to see Izzy and Kari grouping together next to the van. "You all really should find somewhere safer to be right now. Even if all of the monsters are amassing towards Odaiba, there could still be a few stragglers who pass through this area."

"We know, and we're planning on getting out of here soon." Izzy replied. "The same goes for you though. I was serious. Your weapons won't put a dent in MetalEtemon, no matter how powerful they are."

"What does this 'Digimon' look like?" Satoshi asked sincerely.

"He's a humanoid monkey, covered in a silver alloy." Izzy answered. "Another one to look out for is SkullMammothmon. You'll recognize him when you see him. They're both about ten times stronger than the others, at the least. You also need to look out for a black bird man named Karatenmon or an egg shaped creature named Digitamamon."

"I thank you for your advice. We will keep it in mind." Satoshi nodded. With that, he stepped on the gas pedal and drove off, leaving Kari and Izzy behind.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Kari asked the other tamer in a worried tone.

"Well, they'll certainly fare a better chance if they heed my advice. And if they really listened to us, then they could be of some help to Joe and the others."

"I hope so."

**Odaiba Convention Center Area**

**3:30 P.M**

Hiroaki leaned against the façade of a building, next to an open doorway. Two of the other SAT officers stood on the opposite side of the alley, weapons hanging by the hip. One was facing the alley's opening, watching diligently for any roaming Knightmon. The other watched the door, waiting for the return of Satoshi and the third SAT member, who had gone inside to survey the area from the rooftop. Hiroaki stood in wait at the side of the door, prepared to surprise anyone who might come out of the doorway in case things got hairy. The situation had remained calm since they had arrived ten minutes prior, and as such Hiroaki had become relaxed. He scratched at the skin underneath the collar of his bullet-proof vest. It wasn't as protective as the Kevlar body armor the other soldiers were wearing, but it was better than nothing.

As Hiroaki scratched at his collar, his hand brushed against something in his breast pocket. He reached down under his vest and pulled out a folded paper. He opened it curiously, not recalling what he had put in there, and sighed when he saw the photograph of his family, standing happily in front of a fake mountain backdrop. Hiroaki stood with his wife Nancy in the picture along with his sons Matt and Takeru, much younger than they were now.

"What's that?" The soldier closest to him peered over Hiraki's hand, trying to take a look at the picture.

"Nothing, just… something from my past," Hiroaki sighed, folding the picture back into his pocket and slipping it into his side pocket.

"Your family?" The man asked.

"Yeah, or what used to be my family," Hiroaki answered. "What's your name, by the way?"

"I'm Hideki." The man revealed. "The big lug over there is Matsumoto," He nodded over to the soldier on guard, "And the one you haven't met yet is Katsu. I don't think any of us caught your name."

"It's Hiroaki," he answered, "Hiroaki Ishida."

"How's it hanging Hiro?" Matsumoto said gruffly from his watchful position.

"So what's this about your family now?" Hideki inquired.

"Er, it's nothing special." Hiroaki murmured, "My wife and I divorced recently, and I moved out here with my eldest son for a fresh start."

"That's been weighing on your mind lately, huh?" Hideki asked rhetorically. "I don't mean to be insensitive but you've gotta get that out of your mind. We can't have anything distracting us once we're in combat."

"Don't worry; I'm no stranger to fighting." Hiroaki responded mysteriously.

"How's that?" Matsumoto asked. "What do you do?"

"I'm a journalist."

"That doesn't sound like a very eventful job."

"I used to be a field reporter for an international news station. I went out and reported on some big stories in war torn countries. I got into a few jams while I was out there and learned how to handle a gun pretty quickly. That's part of why Nancy and I got divorced, actually. She couldn't take it anymore, worrying about whether or not I'd make it home every time I went out on assignment."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Hideki said sympathetically. "Well, at the very least, we're happy to have you with us, even if we haven't expressed it. We need all the help we can get here."

"I appreciate it." Hiroaki smiled faintly.

"Hey, what do you make of that b.s. story that kid told us?" Matsumoto laughed, changing the subject.

"Like I said, it sounds like a fairy tale to me." Hideki shrugged.

"It certainly sounds fantastic," Hiroaki added, "But I don't think we can ignore any possibilities right now. It's like Satoshi said: after everything we've seen, we can't discount anything that provides a plausible explanation."

"You think that parallel dimension crap is plausible?" Matsumoto scoffed.

"Well it certainly doesn't conflict with anything that we know." Hiroaki agreed with Satoshi's earlier argument.

"Hideki!" A voice called from inside the doorway. Hideki quickly responded to the voice, grasping his weapon and ducking inside.

"Katsu, what's the situation?" Hideki called up into the stairway that they were guarding.

"Satoshi wants you all up here, ASAP." Katsu replied. Hideki looked to Hiroaki and Matsumoto, nodding towards the doorway. The group silently filed into the stairwell and followed Katsu as he walked back up the large flight of stairs. They climbed the six flights of stairs until they reached the roof. The group piled out of the door and back outside onto the open roof. Katsu ducked as they walked out in the open, quickly darting towards the edge of the roof, where he took cover against the edge railing next to Satoshi. The other's followed, congregating around the wall.

"Men, this is Joe Kido." Satoshi introduced them to the teen crouching next to him. The lanky, blue-haired boy stretched his arm out and offered a hand. Hiroaki took it and shook firmly, but the other two men remained skeptical.

"Sir, what are we doing talking to another kid?" Matsumoto grumbled.

"Check this out first," Satoshi gestured with his hand towards Joe, who slipped out of the way to reveal what seemed to be a white seal with a red stripe of hair on its head.

"This is Gomamon." Joe introduced them.

"What the hell is wrong with that seal?" Hideki stared bewildered at what he thought was a deformed zoo animal.

"Hey, are you calling me ugly?" Gomamon barked. "How about this: what's wrong with your face?"

"Ugh!" Matsumoto and Hideki jumped back, surprised by the animal's ability to speak. Hiroaki stared at the creature, fascinated by the display.

"Gomamon, lower your voice," Joe warned, "They'll hear you." Curious about who the boy meant by whom, Hiroaki crawled over to the railing and peered over it. What he saw made him gasp. The street below was flooded with knights. The Odaiba convention center was across the infested street, where people were standing at the windows and on the roof, overlooking the scene. A monstrous seven-headed snake sat at the closer end of the street, while an even larger skeletal mammoth guarded the other end. In the middle of the group, a metal monkey man stood atop a tall mound of rubble, walking around a pole to which a human boy was tied.

"There are so goddamn many of them." Matsumoto growled, glaring down at the crowded street below.

"Who is the kid?" Hiroaki inquired, staring at the monster who he understood to be Etemon and the teenage boy next to him.

"His name is Tai," Joe answered, "He's a friend of mine, and Etemon's going to try and make an example out of him."

"How is that?"

"Etemon is under the impression that humans are evil, and so he's going to kill Tai to teach humans a lesson to not interfere with the digital world ever again."

"We've interfered before?" Hideki asked.

"That's not important right now," Satoshi interrupted, "What is important is the fact that there are a few thousand people locked up in that convention center, and we've got to get them out."

"How are we going to do that?" Asked Hideki.

"Your leader was fortunate enough to run into me," Joe answered for Satoshi, "There are seven of us all situated around this area. We're planning an attack on the big ones out in the front, but the people inside might be in danger. That's where you come in."

"We're going to perform a two-pronged assault: a main attack on the monsters out front, and a secret infiltration of the convention center." Satoshi explained. "Here's the plan."

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**3:54 P.M**

"Argh…" Etemon grunted, standing in the middle of the mound while drumming his fingers against his arm, "Where is he?" He looked around, searching the skies, and finally spotted what he was looking for. A black dot appeared in the sky, heading straight for him. The dot soon sharpened into the bird man named Karatenmon. The Digimon landed in front of his master, bowing in reverence. "Where have you been?" Etemon growled.

"My deepest apologies, lord Etemon," Karatenmon ducked his head, "My opponent was a very worthy adversary and wounded me greatly. I attempted to return once I received your message, but I was too weak to fly. I had to stop and recover."

"I'm not happy with your tardiness, but you're here now, so take a position in front of the convention center." Etemon ordered.

"Yes sir." Karatenmon nodded, and flew away to follow his orders.

"Finally, we can begin." Etemon smiled wickedly as he walked up the mound towards Tai. "Are you ready?" He snickered.

"Do your worst Etemon." Tai glared, struggling in futility to free himself from his bindings.

"Ha, I shall like to see how cocky you are after I snap your neck." Etemon threatened, but then turned around to face the convention center, where rows of people were pressed against the windows of the top floors and stood at the edge of the roof, pressed forward by the Knightmon that stood behind them.

"People of Tokyo!" Etemon suddenly yelled into the air, catching the attention of the humans within the convention center. The Knightmon and the three Devas all turned their attention to their master as well. "The time has come! Allow me to reveal to you why your city is under attack!" Etemon slid over to the side, revealing Tai to the people across the street.

"This is Taichi Kamiya, and he is to blame for the destruction of your city, and any losses of loved ones you may have suffered! He and his friends ravaged my world and terrorized my people! Now I do the same to you, but only to bring the perpetrators to justice!" He turned around and faced Tai once more.

"Admit to your people, Taichi Kamiya, admit to them what you did. Admit to every witness here today the crimes you performed against the digital world!"

"What are you doing?" Tai inquired in confusion.

"Own up to your crimes, boy." Etemon barked. "Be a man! Tell your people what you have done, so they may see your guilt!"

"I won't admit to something that isn't true." Tai denied his demand.

"Admit it to them!" Etemon yelled.

"NO!" Tai cried in reply.

"Admit it!" Etemon lunged at him angrily, grasping the boy's neck in his palm. He squeezed tightly, yet still restricting his grip so as not to kill the boy immediately. "Admit it to me!" Tai gasped for breath, struggling to pull away from the mega, but he didn't have the strength to resist as the monster squeezed his neck, arm shaking furiously.

**Odaiba Convention Center Area**

**4:00 P.M**

Takato stared down at the scene below, hand leaning against the railing of the building he stood on top of as he watched Etemon interrogate Tai. He saw the monster grab at Tai's neck, and Tai begin to struggle violently.

"That's our cue Guilmon." He said as he wiped the rain out of his face.

"Let's do this Takatomon." Guilmon growled in agreement. Takato grasped his digivice, and the two jumped off the building as a bright light enveloped the dinosaur.

"Let's go!"


	31. Battle For Odaiba

**Chapter 31: Battle for Odaiba**

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**4:00 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

"Testify to your guilt!" Etemon ordered, his voice booming. Tai struggled, gasping for breaths like a fish on dry land. Etemon squeezed relentlessly, refusing the boy any oxygen.

"I…can't…breathe…" Tai moaned, his words nothing more than the hiss of air struggling to escape from his lungs.

"If you ever want to taste fresh air again then you will do as I say!" Etemon's eyes burned with hatred, and his piercing gaze fixed on Tai's face, which was turning blue.

"…N…never…" Tai mustered a response.

"Why you…!" Etemon squeezed more tightly, though still restraining himself. He would not allow Taichi Kamiya to die without first forcing an admission of guilt from him. "Admit it! Admit to me what you did to my world!"

"I...did…nothing…" Tai sighed before his lungs finally gave out. The boy's head slumped forward as he fell unconscious.

"Damn it!" Etemon released the boy's neck, pulling back his arm and balling his hand into a fist. "You'll pay for this!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!" A voice cried into the air. Etemon twisted around, recognizing the name of the attack as belonging to a particular Digimon. Atop a building, a Zudomon suddenly appeared in a flash of light as it leapt off the rooftop, its hammer raised into the air. The monster crashed atop of Orochimon and slammed the flat end of his hammer into one of the snake's skulls, crushing it against the pavement.

"Still not the real one, huh?" Zudomon growled as the Deva began to fight back, heads slithering around Zudomon's body. "I guess I'll just smash each one until I find it!" Zudomon yanked his hammer out of the ground and slammed the pointed end into the neck of another one of Orochimon's heads. The Deva writhed in pain, his five remaining heads flailing about as he attempted to recover and assault the monster on his back.

"Get off!" Orochimon clasped one of his mouths around Zudomon's arm and attempted to throw the ultimate away, but Zudomon used the momentum from his earlier swing to quickly slam his mighty weapon into the snake's neck. The impact drove sparks of electricity into the monster's body, and the snake head was ripped from the rest of his neck as Zudomon forced the blunt weapon to tear through his scales.

"They're here." Etemon glared at the battle, displeased that his Deva had been so caught off guard. "The Digidestined are here!" He yelled at the crowd of Digimon standing before him. The Knightmon clambered to their battle positions to prepare for the oncoming enemy. The Digidestined didn't give them the time they needed.

"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon dropped down from the sky and ripped a pair of Knightmon in half.

"Wind Cutter Sword!" Chirinmon followed close behind Cyberdramon. He appeared from the skies under the cover of the rain and ran his horn through one of the Knightmon's chest.

"Gaoga Tornado!" MachGaogamon spun into view and unleashed a flurry of punches at any of the Digimon within his range, pummeling the creatures with his heavy fists.

"Humph…" Karatenmon stared out into the ensuing battle before him. He drew his blades and prepared to join in the fray.

"Not so fast," Crescemon landed before him and drew her weapon, "We have unfinished business."

"I'm amazed you survived my last attack," Karatenmon retorted, "I would have thought for sure that you and your friends had perished in that strike.

"In the condition you were in? A fly wouldn't have died from that attack." Crescemon said mockingly.

"I am at full strength now; let us see if you can handle me this time!" Karatenmon shot forward and slashed at the rabbit Digimon. Meanwhile, Mammothmon yelled into the crowd of Knightmon to stand back as he prepared to run forward towards the three Digidestined Digimon fighting in the crowd.

"Oh no you don't!" MachGaogamon finished off a pair of soldiers and then dashed towards Mammothmon. He grasped the Digimon's tusks and pushed forward, stopping the monster from moving forward.

"Finally, I was waiting when you all would show up." Etemon gazed into the crowd, smiling gleefully as the battles raged on. He cracked his knuckles in his palms and walked back to Tai, lifting his head up so that the boy's face was aimed at the battle. "Wake up and see this Tai: your friends have come for you, but they're going to lose. I'm going to ensure that each and every one of those Digimon, and their human partners, dies!"

"Bring it on!" AeroVeedramon dropped from the rooftop above and landed in front of Etemon.

"We're not afraid of you Etemon!" WarGrowlmon flew into view, his weapons trained on the mega. Takato stood atop his partner's back, glaring along with the dinosaur.

"Oh, I feel so honored: not one, but two of you have come to face me." Etemon smiled wickedly. "Very well then." He lunged forward, fist balled, punched through the air towards AeroVeedramon. The ultimate jumped away, avoiding the mega's assault, but Etemon did not relent. He jumped after AeroVeedramon again, who had to fly away to avoid being stricken by the more powerful monster. Etemon followed as Veedramon and Growlmon lead him out into the main battle zone.

"Now," A voice whispered from below. A street level door on the side of the building next to the mound suddenly opened. It was mostly blocked by the pile of rubble, but the individuals on the other side managed to squeeze through. Susumu Kamiya pushed the door open and crawled out to the other side. Holding the door tightly, he kept it open long enough for Davis to crawl through as well. He then let go of the door, which slammed shut as the rubble fell back on top of it and pushed it closed.

"Tai!" Susumu called to his son as he scrambled up the mound of debris. He lifted the boy's head up so that they could see eye to eye.

"Dad…?" Tai groaned as his eyes slowly fluttered open, awakening from his unconscious state. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you out of here." Susumu said warmly. "Your friends are fighting off those creatures, distracting them so that we can get you to safety."

"Now let's figure out a way to get those cuffs off." Tai turned his head to see Davis marching up the mound.

"Davis!" Tai sighed with relief. "Where's Veemon?"

"He's holding off Etemon, but they won't be able to last for long. We have to hurry."

**4:01 P.M**

"Sir, I'm in position." Katsu spoke over the communicator.

"Good, stand by. Be ready to fire once we engage." Satoshi was crouched next to a door, the service entrance to the convention center. Hideki and Matsumoto had their backs turned to him, facing either direction down the street, keeping a watchful eye out for any Knightmon that might wander by. Hiroaki stood on the opposite side of the door, holding an assault rifle in his hands.

"How long are we going to wait here?" Hideki groaned. "They were supposed to have attacked by now."

"Keep quiet and wait for the signal." Satoshi warned irritably.

"Vulcan's Hammer!" A voice boomed from the other side of the building.

"There they go!" Hideki hissed.

"Hold on," Satoshi warned as Hideki and Matsumoto pulled back and joined him at the door. Matsumoto switched the assault rifle he was holding for the shotgun slung to his back, preparing for the breach.

"They're here! The Digidestined are here!" A new voice yelled. The scrambling of soldiers was heard as well.

"Desolation claw!"

"Wind Cutter Sword!"

"Gaoga Tornado!"

"That's all of them, now!" Satoshi ordered. He and Hiroaki stepped away from the door as Matsumoto walked forward. He raised his foot and kicked at the door, knocking it off its hinges, and ran inside with his shotgun raised.

"All clear!" Matsumoto called from inside. The other three filed inside one by one.

"Fan out! Check the floor for any hostiles!" Satoshi ordered. Hideki and Matsumoto split up, searching the area for any Digimon. "Hiroaki, guard the door!"

"Yes sir!" Hiroaki nodded. He slipped back to the doorway and crouched down, hugging the wall. Looking around, he found that they were in a large kitchen. Satoshi, Hideki, and Matsumoto had swept the room and were now infiltrating the other rooms. A minute later Hideki came back into the kitchen.

"We're all clear, come with me!" Hideki ordered, and Hiroaki complied. He followed the man out into the main hall, an open area with scattered blankets.

"This must be where they were holding everybody." Satoshi said quietly. "Keep it down in here, our voices will echo."

"The catwalk leads to the upper floors," Hideki nodded towards the stairway leading to the catwalk overlooking the room.

"This floor is clear: let's move forward." Satoshi commanded, and led the way up the stairs. Hiroaki and the two soldiers followed him quietly as they made their way up the metal stairs, being careful not to let their steps make too much noise. The group made it to the catwalk, silently sneaking their way across it. Finally reaching the other side, they entered a hallway where an exit sign pointed to a door at the far end.

"This way." Satoshi motioned forward, and the group darted down the hallway towards a broken window. Satoshi quietly pushed the door open and found the stairwell. The group piled inside and made their way upstairs.

"This is it." Satoshi warned. "From our earlier reconnaissance we saw that the people being held hostage here were trapped on the second floor and up. From here on out we need to be weary of the hostages and avoid any action that could get somebody killed. Our primary objective is getting these people out alive, does everybody understand?"

"Yes sir." They all nodded.

"Then let's move, Matsumoto," Satoshi nodded at the man wielding the shotgun, who stepped forward and this time quietly pushed the second floor door open, keeping it cracked just enough so that he could poke his head through.

"It's another hallway, and it looks clear.

"Move carefully." Satoshi motioned forward. Matsumoto quietly pushed the door open and slipped into the hallway, with the others following. Hiroaki made up the rear, keeping an eye on the stairwell they had just left. The hallway they found themselves in had four doors on the right side.

"We'll all take a door on the left." Satoshi ordered. "Clear any hostiles that are inside as quietly as you can, and-" Suddenly the door Satoshi was standing next to burst open and a Knightmon stormed out into the hall, dragging his sword behind him. Glaring at the men standing before him, he unsheathed his sword, and swung it down on the floor. Satoshi sprung out of the way just as the sword crashed into the carpet, splitting the wood beneath.

"Intruders!" The Knightmon yelled.

"Take him out before he recovers!" Satoshi barked. Matsumoto jumped towards the Knightmon as it dragged its sword out of the floor. The monster raised its weapon to strike once more, but Matsumoto was too close. He jammed his shotgun into the monster's open helmet and squeezed the trigger. The deafening blast rung throughout the hallway, and the Knightmon fell to its knees, the back of its helmet split open. As his data began to fade away, the other doors were ripped open and three more Knightmon appeared.

"Open fire!" Satoshi yelled. He grabbed his assault rifle and took careful aim at the closest Knightmon, who was barreling towards him. As the monster came upon him, Satoshi let loose a flurry of bullets into its head. The Knightmon stumbled and dropped to the ground. The armor-piercing rounds had done their job. The Knightmon's helmet had been torn to shreds and the monster's deformed head lay exposed before it began to dissipate into data.

"What the hell?" The other two Knightmon stopped their charge as the bullet spray from Hideki and Hiroaki began to rip through their armor. The two monsters scrambled down the hallway and knocked the end doorway open as they sought salvation from the assault.

"They work!" Hideki cheered. "The armor-piercing rounds ate through them!"

"Don't celebrate just yet; we've got a long way to go." Satoshi said solemnly. "Hiroaki, Hideki, check the rooms. Matsumoto, come with me. We're going after those two." Satoshi dashed down the hallway with Matsumoto hot on his heels. Hiroaki followed his orders, and crept into the closest room. There were no people inside, only what looked to be sleeping quarters. He walked back out and checked the next room over.

"There's nothing in these rooms," Hideki reported as they both came out of the last two rooms, "Just sleeping quarters." At that they heard another spatter of gunfire coming from the room down the hallway.

"Let's go!" Hiroaki dashed down the hall and into the other room. Before he could get through the doorway, however, a Knightmon appeared and slashed at him with his sword. Hiroaki ducked down and narrowly missed the attack. Hideki raised his gun and began firing at the Knightmon. The monster ducked away, not wanting to take the damage, but then changed to a direct charge. He leaped over Hiroaki and stormed towards Hideki, who kept firing at the Digimon. Hideki realized his shots were in vain as the monster stampeded towards him, ignorant to the shots ripping through his body.

"No!" Hideki cried as the Knightmon came upon him. He stabbed his sword forward, tearing into Hideki's soft stomach. Hideki whimpered as he dropped his weapon, his body falling limp over the giant blade.

"Hideki!" Hiroaki cried in terror. The Knightmon heard him and twisted around, yanking the man off of his weapon. He stumbled down the hallway back towards him, the shots from Hideki's gun beginning to take effect.

"Go to hell you son of a bitch!" Hiroaki raised his assault rifle and aimed for the monster's head. The Digimon stumbled some more, falling onto one of his knees, but he didn't give up. He dragged his body towards the man, using his sword to support himself. Hiroaki used his time wisely. He lined up his shot and waited for a clear path to the Knighmon's face. Finding the perfect moment, he pulled the trigger. The bullet spray dug into the monster's forehead, and it dropped to the ground. A moment later its body disintegrated, leaving the hallway clear once again.

"Hideki!" Hiroaki sprung to his feet and ran over to the soldier, whose stomach had been ripped open by the Digimon's blade.

"That bastard… just kept coming at me…" Hideki coughed violently, spewing blood, as Hiroaki supported him. "I guess, you've always gotta go for the headshot…" His body went limp, and his head rolled to the side.

"Hideki, stay with me! Stay with me!" Hiroaki cried, shaking the man in his arms. But Hideki was gone. Hiroaki held back tears. He put the body on the ground, picked up his own weapon, and ran back towards the door.

**4:05 P.M**

"You're going to pay for that!" The snake Deva hissed. Orochimon's remaining heads were wrapped around Zudomon, stopping him from moving freely. The Digidestined struggled to escape his grasp, but to no avail. "Four of my heads are gone because of you!"

"And I'm about to take the other four!" Zudomon quipped. He then dropped his hammer, which harmlessly fell to the ground. The sea monster grasped one of the snake heads with his hands, and pulled inward tightly. Without the aid of his hammer, the Digimon tore the fifth head off of the Deva, which continued to squirm as it bit into his forearm, until the fake head exploded into data.

"Argh!" Orochimon squeeled. Zudomon could now move, with only three heads binding him. He lunged for his hammer, scooping it off of the ground. The three snakes bit at his arms, attempting to stop the monster from striking.

"I'm done playing around!" Zudomon growled as he lifted his hammer into the air. A lightning bolt struck close by as the rain began to pick up. "Vulcan's Hammer!" He roared and brought his weapon crashing down into the center of Orochimon's body. Another bolt of lightning struck the weapon just as it hit, sending waves of electricity shooting through the Deva. Orochimon cried in horror as he was electrocuted, the hammer pumping a continuous stream of energy into him. Orochimon finally collapsed: his three remaining heads dropped to the ground with a thud. Zudomon jumped off of the Deva and watched as its body disappeared, the data washing away in the rain.

"That's one down: three to go." Zudomon commented, scanning the battle scene for his next opponent. Cyberdramon and Chirinmon were making quick work of the horde of Knightmon, though the soldiers were numerous. He spotted MachGaogamon struggling to keep Mammothmon back. The cyber-wolf was fighting a losing battle. As an ultimate, he didn't stand a chance by himself against the mega level Deva. "Hold on Gaogamon, I'm coming." Zudomon then began to stampede his way through the crowd of Knighmon, knocking aside any who approached him with his hammer. He jumped into the air, soaring over MachGaogamon, and slammed his weapon down into the SkullMammothmon's back.

"Argh!" Mammothmon cried in pain as he shook his back, attempting to knock the Digimon off. Zudomon rolled off of the monster and swung his weapon back, preparing to strike at its face.

"Move Gaogamon!" Zudomon ordered. The cyber-wolf quickly complied, ducking down as Zudomon swung. The mammoth was blindsided as the hammer collided with his face. The Digimon flew backwards, crashing into a few buildings until he finally stopped a few streets away.

"Thanks for the assist." MachGaogamon grunted as he stood back up.

"No problem, now let's try and finish him off." Zudomon suggested.

"I was only trying to hold him back. I don't have the strength to fight off a mega."

"Don't worry; if any of us have the power to defeat him, it's the two of us. I'm the oldest and most experienced and you've absorbed the digi-core of a Deva."

"Er…" MachGaogamon looked worried, but believed in the Digidestined's words. "Alright then, let's tear him apart!" MachGaogamon shot forward towards SkullMammothmon, and Zudomon followed close behind.

**4:05 P.M**

"You are indeed a skillful opponent," Karatenmon sighed as he crossed blades with Crescemon, "But you are no match for me." He taunted her. Crescemon swung her sickle at the bird man, who knocked the strike away with his twin blades. The rabbit tried again, throwing her arm forward, sickle aimed for Karatenmon's throat. The bird man didn't block this time. Instead, he jumped up to perch on her sickle.

"Come on, you can do better than this." He said tauntingly. He jumped again as she pulled her arm back, spinning into the air and kicking at her head from behind. Crescemon fell forward, her weapon slipping through her fingers. As the sickle clattered to the ground, Karatenmon landed behind the fallen Digimon and grabbed at her ears. Crescemon quickly spun around, slipping out of the Deva's hold and sweeping her foot at his ankles. The bird man jumped away and landed on the ground behind her, however Crescemon was ready this time.

"How's this for better?!" She jumped back up to her feet and shot her shield-bearing arm at the sword master's gut. Karatenmon was surprised, expecting her to punch with the other fist, and wasn't in a position to dodge.

"**Slide evolution…!"** The Digimon quickly switched to Digitamamon, becoming the shell-armored Digimon just in time to take the full force of Crescemon's strike with ease. The heavy shield did, however, throw the Deva back. Digitamamon rolled backwards, crashing into the convention center behind him, and fell inside. Crescemon sighed heavily for a second, bending down to pick up her weapon. She then darted into the dark room after him.

"Where are you?" She inquired rhetorically as she jumped through the hole in the wall, landing about ten feet lower in total darkness. Her keen eyesight took a short moment to adjust, and she discovered that she was in the parking garage. Her eyes darted around as she searched for her opponent, but the Deva was nowhere to be seen.

"Very well then," She whispered, "You'd already have the element of surprise on me anyway." She let her weapon rest against the ground and stood up straight. "Come on out Karatenmon, I'm right here!" She called into the empty room. Her voice echoed in the empty space: only the faint sound of the rain and the grunts of battling Knightmon could be heard from the hole above her that led to the outside. She stared forward, not moving her head, waiting for her opponent to strike.

"That was a foolish move, giving up your defensives like that." Karatenmon appeared a ways before her, standing in the same position, his blades pointed at the ground. "I could have easily taken advantage of you in that situation."

"But you did not." Crescemon replied. "You are an honorable opponent Karatenmon, just misguided."

"You are the one who is misguided," Karatenmon began to glare, "Human-loving fool."

"It's a shame you think of it that way," Crescemon shook her head, "Hopefully I can change your mind. But if not then I'll be more than happy to take you down!" Crescemon burst from her position and sped towards Karatenmon with her weapon drawn.

**4:05 P.M**

"Atomic Blaster!" The gun ports on WarGrowlmon's chest fired a powerful stream of energy, which Etemon didn't even bother trying to dodge. He shielded himself from the blast by crossing his arms against his chest. His armor took the brunt of the attack, and by bracing himself Etemon wasn't even thrown backwards.

"V-Breath Arrow!" AeroVeedramon was flying above the mega, and shot a heat beam down at the monster. Etemon simply knocked this blast away.

"Hah, how pitiful, "He scoffed, "Your attacks are nothing to me. Why on earth did you try going against me, when this was the natural result of the battle? You cannot defeat me! I am a mega level Digimon, and you two are fresh ultimates!"

"Just because the odds aren't in our favor doesn't mean that we don't stand a chance!" WarGrowlmon bellowed as he shot forward and punched at the monkey.

"This is our city, and you don't have any right to be here!" Takato yelled.

"We won't give up trying to stop you from destroying this town!" AeroVeedramon cried, flying through the air with his foot extended forward, ready to kick the monster in the face. Etemon snatched at the Digimon's leg, grasping his ankle. AeroVeedramon was helpless against the mega's grip, and was thrown into WarGrowlmon as the dinosaur tried to strike at Etemon. WarGrowlmon stumbled and tried to change the trajectory of his fist, narrowly missing AeroVeedramon as the dragon was flung towards him. WarGrowlmon's fist slammed into the ground, shaking the earth beneath them.

"Have you had enough yet?" Etemon laughed, his hands resting on his hips. "Neither of you stand a chance against me! Give up now, go home, and maybe I'll spare your lives, or at least overlook you as I destroy this city!"

"Never!" The Digidestined both cried.

"Atomic Blaster!"

"V-Breath Arrow!"

Etemon jumped into the air, dodging both attacks with ease. The blasts obliterated the ground beneath him as he lunged towards the pair of ultimates. WarGrowlmon jumped backwards and AeroVeedramon rolled to the side as Etemon landed, facing the dinosaur.

"Take this!" WarGrowlmon threw both of his fists at the metal monkey, who caught them with ease. WarGrowlmon's engines started, and he began to push Etemon down with as much strength as he could. Etemon held onto the ultimate's arms tightly, refusing to let go.

"V-Breath Arrow!" A blast came from behind. Etemon quickly shifted his head to see AeroVeedramon firing at him from behind. Etemon swiftly jumped upwards, pulling WarGrowlmon's arms with him. WarGrowlmon helplessly shot forward as his arms were flung into the air, and he couldn't stop himself before being hit in the chest by AeroVeedramon's attack.

"Ugh!" WarGrowlmon grunted as he was thrown backwards. Etemon then used the dinosaur's arms to fling himself down and kicked WarGrowlmon in the face, throwing the Digimon onto his back. Takato jumped off of his partner just before the Digimon landed, avoiding being smashed between the large dinosaur and the ground.

"No! Growlmon!" AeroVeedramon cried.

"I don't like being attacked from behind like that!" Etemon barked. He charged forward towards AeroVeedramon, who tried to fly out of the way, but Etemon jumped up and grabbed his leg. He slammed the dragon into the earth, lifted him up, and tossed him to the side.

"Argh!" AeroVeedramon grunted as he landed on the pavement. He gathered his bearings and stood back up. Though battered, he was still in good enough shape to fight.

"Berserk Sword!" A Knightmon appeared, wildly slashing his blade at AeroVeedramon. The Digimon jumped away, but was met with another Knightmon. He soon found himself surrounded by three of them, their swords all pointing at him.

"Ugh…" WarGrowlmon dragged himself up, stumbling to his feet. He looked down to see Etemon walking towards him.

"Alright then," Etemon smiled, "Now that I've disposed of your friend, we can have a proper fight."

"Veedramon!" WarGrowlmon roared, urgently searching for his friend.

"You're all alone now." Etemon cracked his knuckles. "It's just you versus me."


	32. The Raging Storm

**Chapter 32: The Raging Storm**

**Odaiba Apartments**

**4:05 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

Yolei pulled the SUV into the deserted courtyard. She and Matt had found the vehicle in a parking garage close to where they had left Izzy. Yolei had quickly set to work hot-wiring the large car and within a few minutes they had driven out of the parking garage and made their way back to Izzy. As they had picked up him and Kari, Izzy explained about the group of SAT members he had run into, and what he had told them. They collected Jim and Yuuko, and then drove down to Odaiba, finding the drive peaceful. Even the bridge to Odaiba, which was previously a warzone piled with vehicles, was void of soldiers and had a clear path for the SUV to traverse. Yolei intentionally took a route that had avoided the convention center, and as they were driving they heard the first sounds of battle.

"Looks like they've started," Matt had commented as they approached the apartment complex.

"I hope they'll be okay." Kari sighed as she passed her digivice between her fingers.

"Don't worry; they know what they're doing." Izzy had assured her.

The group piled out of the large vehicle, looking around at the deserted apartment complex. Yolei led the way towards their building. As they walked, Yuuko looked around at her home.

"I can't believe we're finally back here." Yuuko sighed, wiping some moisture from her forehead as the rain continued to beat down upon them. "I wasn't sure if I'd ever see my home again."

"It's not over Mom." Kari warned her mother. "We're not safe just yet."

"I know," She nodded as they made their way up the stairs, "Still, It would be nice if we could go home, just for a bit."

"Of course Mom," Kari assured her, "Izzy probably doesn't need us up there anyway, and with all the Knightmon preoccupied with the fight we're safe here for the moment." She looked to Izzy and Matt.

"Of course," Izzy agreed, "I only need one person anyway, just to do some grunt work if I'm preoccupied."

"If that's the case," Jim said through cringes, "Do you mind if I stop as well?" He favored his good leg. "These stairs are killing me."

"Here, you can rest in my house." Yolei stopped at her floor and led Jim down the hall. Kari and Yuuko broke off from the group as well, exiting on their floor to return to the Kamiya residence.

"Just a moment," Yolei told Jim as she reached into her pocket and dug out her house keys. She reached for the doorknob but found it unlocked. She pushed the door open and led the man inside, "The couch is right over here." She said absent-mindedly. Yolei led the man towards the resting place. "Mom… Dad…?" Yolei looked around in futility.

"I'm sorry," Jim consoled her as the girl shed a few tears.

"It is fine," Yolei said as she wiped her face, "I didn't expect them to be here, but I was kind of hoping for a miracle."

"Don't worry; they're probably at the convention center with the rest of the families from this area. Once your friends defeat the Devas, they'll be free and you can see them again."

"Thanks for that." Yolei smiled.

A few floors above, Yuuko and Kari unlocked their apartment and made their way into their house. Kari dropped onto the couch, sighing deeply, while Yuuko wandered around aimlessly, not sure of what to do with herself.

"Mom, you need to relax." Kari told her mother. "Tai and Dad are in good hands."

"I know Kari," Yuuko walked over to her daughter, "Listen, I want you to know how proud I am, of you and your brother."

"What?" Kari inquired.

"You two and your friends have handled this situation so calmly; better than any of the adults have. You obviously have a handle on this, and I'm amazed that you two were able to accomplish some truly incredible things in that other world, even if I'm not totally sure what they are or what that world even is. You two matured so greatly in that time. I noticed it after we found you, but I sort of put it out of my head because I was just glad you were safe."

"Oh Mom…" Tears welled up in Kari's eyes. She pushed off the couch and grasped her mother in a deep hug.

Meanwhile, Matt and Izzy had made it to the rooftop. The digital gate Izzy had constructed stood exposed, pelted by the rain.

"Oh, crap!" Izzy ran over to his computer, which was soaked with rain water. "Not again!" He cried. He wiped the water off of his computer and grunted angrily.

"You forgot to put it away, huh?" Matt sighed.

"I didn't have time. I was working on the program when the Digimon attacked, and I had to make my way over to Joe's house to fix his and J.P.'s digivices." Izzy ran into the open store room, where he found a rag for cleaning up oil. He used it to wipe the computer clean. "I can't risk turning this on right now." Izzy complained. "We're useless over here until I can get a hold of another computer or until this one is dry."

"Great, so we came down here for nothing." Matt groaned. He turned away and stared towards the convention center, where the cries of battle could be heard over the patter of rain drops. "What do we do now?"

"I know it's disrespectful, but we should search the apartments," Izzy suggested, "If there's an accessible laptop in any of them, I can use it to interface with the gate. It might take a while to set up the program, but it's better than just sitting here doing nothing."

"Alright then, let's go." Matt ran back towards the stairs. Izzy followed him, looking in the direction of the convention center as he ran.

"I'm sorry guys; you're going to have to hold out for a little bit longer."

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**4:05 P.M**

Hiroaki pushed through the doorway, lifting his weapon as he checked around the room. He saw a few rounds fly through the air, shattering the windows. Hiroaki followed the trail of bullets to the right side of the room, where a group of forty people were huddled down below the window. A pair of Knightmon stood in front of them, crouched as well as they dodged the gunfire.

"Matsumoto, be careful of the civilians!" Satoshi yelled from the other side of the room.

"I know, dammit!" Matsumoto swore as one of the Knightmon began running towards him with his weapon drawn. Matsumoto lifted his pistol, the shotgun too dangerous for use in the small room, and fired a few rounds into the Knightmon's chest. The monster kept running, as if the bullets hadn't fazed him at all, even though there were clear tears in his armor. Hiroaki raised his weapon, looking down his sight as he aimed at the Digimon's head.

"Oh shit!" Matsumoto cried as the Knightmon came upon him. He switched to his shotgun as the monster raised his sword. Hiroaki fired. A trail of bullets ripped through the Digimon's helmet, pounding into his skull. The knight stumbled, dropping his weapon, and then fell to the ground.

"Thanks Hiro," Matsumoto gasped.

"Don't move!" The last Knightmon called form the corner of the room. The three soldiers looked over to see that the Digimon had grabbed a little girl and was holding her tightly, his sword drawn forward. "Put down your weapons!" He barked as he raised the weapon to her neck.

"Shit!" Matsumoto swore. "What do we do?"

"Put down your weapons," Satoshi ordered, setting his assault rifle on the ground.

"But sir-!" Matsumoto began.

"Now!" Satoshi snapped. Matsumoto sighed, realizing he was right. He set his shotgun and his pistol on the ground and began to back away from them.

"You too!" The Knightmon yelled at Hiroaki. The man sighed and slowly placed his weapon down. "Now kick them over to me, and lie on the floor!" The Knightmon's voice cracked as he yelled out his command. The fear in the monster's voice was obvious: he hadn't experienced any resistance from humans before this point.

"Now calm down," Satoshi began, "We can talk this out." He made his way to the right. The Knightmon glared at him, matching his steps.

"I said get on the ground!" The Knightmon yelled once more as he slid over to his left.

"I will, just put the girl down." Satoshi pleaded.

"I might put her down once you put your stupid face on the ground!" The Knightmon yelled, swinging his sword outward angrily.

"Take the shot." Satoshi ordered as he pressed the button on his headset. The Knightmon's eyes widened as he realized what he'd done. He twirled around to face the shattered window just as a bullet flew through the opening and tore through his face. The Digimon dropped his hostage and his weapon and fell to the ground, data breaking off of him as he fell. The little girl ran back to the group of people, crying for her mother as the monster crashed onto the ground and exploded in a shower of data.

"Nice hit Katsu." Satoshi spoke into his communicator.

"Thank you sir." Katsu's voice buzzed back.

"Alright let's get these people out of here." Satoshi lowered his weapon and walked over to the group. "I need some of you to lead the rest of these people out of here. Is there anyone who can lead this group to St. Luke's Hospital?"

"I can," A woman walked forward, "I'm a nurse there. I know the way."

"Good. The bottom floor is clear. Get out of here and take these people out of the back door, through the kitchen. Can you find the way?"

"I can." A man raised his hand. "I work in the kitchen."

"Alright then, let's get you all out of here."

"Satoshi," Hiroaki blocked the way into the hall as the man led the group of civilians towards the exit.

"What's the holdup Hiroaki?" Satoshi inquired, looking over his shoulder. "And where's Hideki?"

"He…" Hiroaki avoided the man's gaze, "he didn't make it."

"What?" Matsumoto overheard them and rushed over. "Where is he?" The man pushed past Hiroaki and into the hall. "Goddamn…" Matsumoto grumbled from behind him. "Shit!" Matsumoto punched the wall in his anger.

"Matsumoto, drag his body into one of the rooms," Satoshi ordered, his voice solemn, "I don't want the civilians to see it."

"Yes sir." Matsumoto said as his voice cracked.

"Wait here for a second." Satoshi told the nurse who stood at the front of the group of civilians. He then turned to Hiroaki. "What happened?"

"One of the Knightmon stormed into the hall and knocked me over, and bum-rushed Hideki. He tried to fight him off, but the Knightmon made it to him before either of us could take him out."

"Goddamn it…" Satoshi pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"He didn't die for nothing though." Hiroaki tried to comfort the man. "Hideki only shot at his chest. The Digimon fought through the shots. It wasn't until I shot him in the head that he went down."

"So we have to shoot for the head, even with the armor-piercing rounds." Satoshi sighed. "Good to know. That information might save our lives later on."

"Too bad Hideki couldn't get that information…" Matsumoto said grimly as he returned from his mission. "The hallway is clear."

"Good," Satoshi turned to the nurse, "Move on out of here and make sure to leave through the back exit."

"Don't worry; none of us want to go out there." She nodded over to the window as the group filed out of the room and into the hallway. As they left, Hiroaki wandered over to the window, and peered outside.

"Damn…" Hiroaki whispered, "They weren't kidding."

"What do you mean?" Satoshi inquired.

"One, two," Hiroaki counted with his finger, "three, four. There are at least four new Digimon out there. They're fighting all the smaller Knightmon and that metal monkey thing. I don't see the two big ones that we saw before either, the snake or the mammoth."

"Move over," Satoshi walked over to the window as well, to see for himself. "Katsu," He spoke into his headset, "Did you see what happened to the two big ones?"

"Yes sir. Some sort of giant walrus-turtle hybrid holding a hammer appeared and took out the snake. Then he and a giant machine-wolf started fighting the mammoth and drifted off into another area."

"Goddamn," Matsumoto murmured, "We might actually stand a chance against these things."

"Alright, that's enough observing. We still have work to do." Satoshi drifted away from the window. "Let's get moving."

**4:10 P.M**

Crescemon's and Karatenmon's blades crashed together, sending small sparks flying. Crescemon pressed her sickle against Karatenmon's swords, which were crossed together, blocking the attack from reaching the bird man. The Deva pushed back, digging his heels into the pavement to gain a strong enough stance. Crescemon struggled against the resistance. She dug her heels in as well, pushing back harder. Both Digimon found that they were locked in a standstill. Neither one could force the other down.

"Ugh!" Crescemon backed away first. She jumped backwards, retracting her sickle, and landed a few meters away. Karatenmon stumbled forward, losing his balance after Crescemon hopped away. Crescemon took advantage of this and ran forward, slashing her sickle outward. Karatenmon ducked away and took a swing at Crescemon's knees. The rabbit lowered her shield to block the blades, which bounced off harmlessly.

The Deva twirled around and used the momentum to try and slash at his opponent's shoulder. The rabbit blocked again, knocking the attack away with her shield. She then jabbed forward with her sickle. The bird man flew backwards, his wings throwing gusts of wind towards Crescemon, who created a counter-current by swinging her weapon with the broad side against the air. She then dashed after the Deva.

"Hiya!" Crescemon threw her blade forward, which Karatenmon jumped away from. "Hiya!" Crescemon shot again, but the bird man repeatedly dodged. "Hiya!" Crescemon put her entire body into the throw, pushing off the ground with both feet. Karatenmon tried to block with his sword, but the Digidestined's full-bodied attack knocked the blade backward. Karatenmon lost control of his sword as it fell back into his shoulder, cutting through the skin and into the muscle.

"Argh!" Karatenmon squealed. He slashed with his other sword, forcing Crescemon to dodge. He struggled to pull his weapon out of his shoulder, groaning as the metal was yanked from his flesh. "Dammit!" He groaned, sighing deeply. "You'll pay for that! I'll kill you!" Karatenmon lunged towards her.

"No you won't Deva!" Crescemon had slid across the floor to dodge Karatenmon's last attack, and finally came to a stop. She ran towards her opponent and pounded at him with her sickle. The Digimon blocked with his blade, slipped to the side, and slashed at her mid-section. Crescemon back-flipped away and landed a good distance away, enough to connect her shield with her sickle.

"Ice Archery!" Frozen arrows exploded from the tip of her weapon, scattering over the ground in front of her. Karatenmon leaped into the air, dodging the majority of the projectile, while Crescemon pulled her weapon up, following his path.

"Hiya!" Karatenmon smashed through the field of arrows, obliterating them with his sword slashes. He ducked down as he hit the ground and dashed towards Crescemon, whose weapon was still pointed up in the air. She quickly ended her barrage and let her weapon fall until it was aimed at Karatenmon once more.

"Dark Archery!" Crescemon's voice boomed. Karatenmon's eyes widened. He flipped around and jumped away as a flurry of dark arrows coated the ground below him.

"You're insane!" Karatenmon cried as he dodged the oncoming arrows. "You'll drop this whole place down on top of us!" As he spoke, the first of the arrows exploded. Karatenmon was flung backwards by the force of the blast, and barely was able to catch himself and land on his feet. He shielded his eyes from the following explosions, and once they were done he looked up to try and spot his opponent, but found his vision obstructed by the smoke.

"Shit!" He swore, realizing what had just happened.

"Agh!" Crescemon appeared under cover of smoke and swung her sickle down on Karatenmon's wounded shoulder. Without enough time to slide-digivolve, Karatenmon responded with the only movement he could. He threw his sword forward just as Crescemon's blade ripped into his chest. Crescemon was helpless to stop herself as she fell into his sword, the blade cutting into the side of her stomach. Karatenmon's left arm went limp, and he dropped his other sword. Crescemon's did as well, stunned by the wound to her gut, her shield dragging her arm down.

They both screamed in pain. The two stood motionless for a minute, both paralyzed by the blow they had dealt each other. Finally, Karatenmon began coughing, blood spewing from his throat. He let his arm fall back, his sword slipping out of Crescemon's flesh. Relieved of the skewer, Crescemon ripped her weapon from her opponent's shoulder.

Karatenmon surprised her by slashing at her face. Crescemon knocked the blade away with her sickle. The two slashed wildly, their blades bouncing against each other as they tried to disarm their opponent. Karatenmon finally got the upper hand. Upon contact with the sickle, his blade slipped down the edge instead of being deflected. He sliced into the rabbit's wrist, causing her to scream and drop her weapon.

Karatenmon pulled his sword back and jabbed forward once more. Crescemon ducked as the blade cut harmlessly into the air. Balanced on one foot, Crescemon spun around and slammed her other foot into the bird man's chest. Karatenmon flew into the air, crashing into the far wall, which collapsed against his weight. The Deva fell through the hole in the wall, into the rainy street beyond.

Crescemon took a moment to breath. She checked her wrist: while bleeding, the damage wasn't too bad. She bent down, picked up her weapon, and ran after her opponent, leaping through the hole into the outside world. She landed in a deserted street on the other side of the convention center. Karatenmon was struggling to get to his feet, tightly grasping his wound to keep from losing too much blood.

"It's over, Deva." Crescemon sighed heavily, grasping the wound on her side. "You're too wounded to continue fighting. Give up now."

"I'll never… do such a thing…" Karatenmon moaned, stumbling a bit as he made it to a standing position.

"Oh no!" Someone gasped down the street. Both Digimon turned to see a young woman in a nurse's outfit standing before a large group of people. "Everyone run!" She cried. The group screamed in panic as they fled down the street.

"Perfect…" The bird man groaned, and began running towards them.

"Karatenmon, no!" Crescemon called, but the Digimon ignored her. "You're better than this! You're a Deva, a protector of the digital world!" Her cries were unheeded. Karatenmon spread his wings and soared above the group of people, landing in front of them. The group scrambled to a stop to avoid running into the creature, who glared at them angrily. Crescemon jumped into the air, bouncing off the wall of the convention center. She fell downwards and kicked at the bird man with both her feet.

"Stay away from them!" She roared as the monster flew backwards, twisting around and landing on his chest. Crescemon darted towards the monster and, grabbing her sickle with both hands, jumped into the air and crashed down onto the Deva, slamming her blade into the Digimon's back. Karatenmon let out a sickening cry, and his body went limp. Crescemon stumbled backwards, grabbing her side as her wound began to flare up with pain. Karatenmon's body slowly dissolved, data floating away into the air.

"Th-thank you." The nurse whispered from behind her. Crescemon turned around to face the group of people. The nurse flinched as she came face to face with the Digimon.

"You need to get out of here. This area is dangerous." Crescemon ordered. The woman nodded, and then led the group away from her, down another street. Crescemon stumbled backwards and fell against the side of the convention center, sighing heavily as she gripped her wound tightly.

**4:10 P.M**

WarGrowlmon flew into the air as Etemon sprang towards him. The mega's fist crashed into the earth, which exploded, blowing pieces of rubble and pavement in all directions. WarGrowlmon dropped down on top of him, bashing his claws into the monkey. The dinosaur's claw bounced off the Deva's armor, and the monster then jumped into the air and kicked WarGrowlmon in the chin. The Digidestined tumbled backwards, crashing into the closest building.

"You're no match for me!" Etemon laughed as he ran towards his opponent with another fist ready.

"I'm not afraid of you!" WarGrowlmon burst forward with his rockets, swinging at the stronger monster angrily.

"Hey, how's it going over here?" Takato made his way up the rubble pile, away from WarGrowlmon's and Etemon's battle. He joined up with Susumu and Davis, who were working from different angles to free Tai from his bindings. Susumu was tinkering with the handcuffs while Davis was shoveling debris out from the base of the pole.

"Not great," Susumu shook his head, "These cuffs are on tight. I can't get his hands through."

"And this pole is in pretty deep," Davis sighed as he stood up, "I can't dig it out."

"Atomic Blaster!" WarGrowlmon's voice boomed as he blasted at the metal monkey. Etemon deflected the blast and jumped at him, kicking the monster in the face. WarGrowlmon flew backwards but caught himself by digging his feet into the earth.

"You're not going to come out of this alive!" Etemon barked as he leaped towards the giant dinosaur and began pounding on him with his fists.

"Damn," Tai sighed, "This has been a long day." He dropped his head.

"Hey, don't worry son," Susumu walked over to the other side of the pole and put his hands on Tai's shoulders, "We're going to get you out of here."

"Uh, I hate to ruin the moment," Takato called, "But we've got company!" Susumu, Tai, and Davis looked up to see a Knightmon walking towards them with his sword drawn.

"Oh no," Susumu wiped the rain from his eyes, "This isn't good."


	33. As They Fall

Realized I still had that blog from ages ago where I posted questions from reviewers, so I posted a map of Odaiba to give some perspective to these chapters. Also, my beta-reader and I would love it if we were to receive some reviews. We've both been working pretty hard on this lately and it would be great to see how people are responding to the chapters.

**Chapter 33: As They Fall**

**Tokyo Beach, Odaiba**

**4:10 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

Zudomon stomped through the path of destruction left by SkullMammothmon, who had been launched through a series of buildings after being hit by the sea monster's hammer. MachGaogamon zipped after him, jets churning as he flew through the sky above the other Digidestined. At the end of the path, SkullMammothmon lay on the beach, amidst a pile of rubble that he had carried with him as he was thrown. The Digimon stood to his feet, waves crashing against them as the chilled waters of Tokyo Bay churned.

Arriving at the beach, Zudomon was breathing heavily as the rain began to fall harder, beating on him from above. Eyeing Mammothmon, the sea monster lunged forward, his hammer aimed for his opponent's ribs. The mega-level Digimon threw his body forward, his tusks colliding with Zudomon's weapon. The monster began stepping forward, the strength in his bones overpowering the ultimate's hammer. Zudomon struggled to stand, the weight and force that his opponent was applying to him rapidly becoming too much to handle.

MachGaogamon appeared to assist the walrus-turtle. He flew over his partner, landed on the mega's back, and slammed his fist down into the monster's spine, continually ramming his metal gauntlet into the Digimon's back. Mammothmon was stunned by this, and stumbled backwards. Zudomon didn't expect this change in direction and fell forward as he was still trying to push against the Deva's tusks, crashing into the sand.

SkullMammothmon shook violently, causing the cyber-wolf on his back to lose balance and fall. The Digimon slid off of the Deva's slippery backbones and into the water. The Digimon jumped to his feet, not wishing for his mechanical parts to become soaked, and struck at the mammoth once again, driving his fist into one of the monster's rib bones, which gave way with a sickening crack. Skullmammothmon roared in pain, stumbling to the side as the broken bone pressed into the large red orb held within his ribcage.

Realizing that the orb was the Deva's weakness, Zudomon developed a plan. He lifted himself off the ground and charged towards the mammoth, swinging his hammer down on the monster's skull. The golden armor guarding Skullmammothmon's cranium shielded the Deva from the attack, and Zudomon's weapon bounced off of the Digimon's head harmlessly.

Having noticed the mammoth's weakness as well, MachGaogamon rushed for the monster's side. He jumped up, grabbed his opponent's spine for support, and swung his fist towards the Digimon's already wounded ribcage. However Mammothmon noticed the attack in time. He brought up his knee and slammed it into the cyber-wolf, who was thrown over the Deva's back, crashing into the monster's spiked spines.

His arms and weapon still in the air, Zudomon swung down, aiming for the mammoth's skull once more. The Deva ducked his head, preparing to knock the hammer away once more. However Zudomon changed his trajectory and brought his weapon crashing down on the mega-level Digimon's foot. SkullMammothmon reared into the air, his trunk trumpeting as he screamed in pain. MachGaogamon, who was stuck on the Deva's back, fell back into the water as his opponent straightened its spine.

This was the moment Zudomon had been waiting for. He ran forward, ducking under Mammothmon's front limbs. He pulled his hammer back, eyeing the large red orb in the Digimon's chest, and swung the weapon towards the fragile rib bone created by one of MachGaogamon's latest attacks.

Suddenly, Zudomon was pulled backwards, just as his weapon had reached the Deva's ribcage. His hammer swung harmlessly in the air as his body was yanked into the air. Skullmammothmon dropped his forelimbs to the ground, his trunk wrapped around the walrus-turtle's leg. The mammoth glared with piercing eyes at the Digidestined Digimon, who dangled helplessly in front of the monster.

Whipping his opponent into the air effortlessly, the Deva then threw his head upwards as well. As Zudomon fell back to the earth, he was helpless to stop SkullMammothmon's tusks from gouging into his stomach. Zudomon gasped as waves of pain shot through his body, causing his arms to tense up and his grip on his weapon to loosen. The hammer fell into the sandy beach as SkullMammothmon ran forward and slammed the walrus-turtle into the rubble of the building before them, which had been previously destroyed by the mammoth's flight.

SkullMammothmon backed away as he pulled his tusks out of the sea monster's chest. Zudomon flopped forward and fell onto the pavement, squirming in pain as the Deva before him ran forward to deliver a final attack. Suddenly MachGaogamon appeared, flashing into view between the wounded Zudomon and the charging Mammothmon. MachGaogamon threw a fist at the Mega, who scoffed as the strike bounced off his golden helmet. The mammoth instead ripped his tusks into MachGaogamon, who fell backwards on top of the wounded Zudomon. The Deva laughed as the two ultimates degenerated, becoming the rookies Gomamon and Gaomon.

"Ugh…" Gaomon's head spun as he stood up and massaged the wounds he had received moments ago. SkullMammothmon stood above them, laughing gleefully at his opponents' defeat. Gaomon stumbled over to Gomamon and lifted the semi-conscious seal up, hoisting him over his shoulder. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here." He ran off the beach, towards the small forest before the concrete jungle of Tokyo began.

"No way…" Gomamon groaned, "I have to teach him a lesson…"

"I hate that I'm saying this, but we lost. We're no match for him." Gaomon barked as he ran into the trees, escaping the view of the Deva, who hadn't yet noticed their disappearance as he was reveling in his victory. "It's time to regroup."

"Let me go…" Gomamon waved his fin towards the beach, his exhaustion causing delirium.

"Next time buddy," Gaomon shook his head, and then took off through the small forest back towards the convention center.

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**4:10 P.M**

The small army of Knightmon that had remained at the convention center now stood at about thirty members, evenly dispersed into three groups surrounding Cyberdramon, AeroVeedramon, and Chirinmon. The three ultimate Digimon had eliminated a small number of them, but the sizeable army was proving a difficult match for them. AeroVeedramon looked to Chirinmon and Cyberdramon, who had handled the majority of the fighting so far, and saw that they were both fatigued. Pebbles of sweat could be seen in the crevasses of their armor, disguised by the torrent that was raining down on them from above. Both Digimon were breathing heavily: their limit was about to be reached.

"You two look exhausted." AeroVeedramon spoke as he eyed the other two Digimon. They looked back at him, annoyed at the obviousness of his statement. "I'm serious; you two can't go on much longer."

"We don't have much of a choice." Chirinmon sighed as she stared down one of the Knightmon. It mirrored her gaze. The two sides had reached a stalemate. The Knightmon didn't want to risk attacking the Digidestined, as their numbers had already been easily diminished, and the Digidestined needed a rest and did not wish to strike at the enemy knights any time soon. "We need to deal with these guys as soon as possible so we can return to WarGrowlmon and back him up." This wasn't the actual plan, but Chirinmon needed the enemy to believe so.

That had been their original plan, which none of the Digimon were too satisfied with, but had agreed to all the same. However a short time before they had implemented their attack, Joe had come up to the group from his hiding place and revealed to everyone that a group of SAT members had arrived, and were going to infiltrate the convention center to free the people inside. Their plan had changed from a foolish aggressive attempt on the Devas to a rescue mission.

It was now the Digimon's job to distract the Devas and the Knightmon hoard while Susumu and Davis rescued Tai, and the SAT team cleared the building and got the people inside to safety, while trying to eliminate any enemy Digimon they could during the process. While this plan didn't exactly solve the Deva problem, it was much more reasonable than attempting to eliminate the Devas altogether. They could rescue Tai and the people trapped within the convention center, put a sizeable dent in Etemon's army, and escape relatively unharmed.

However that plan was now in jeopardy. While the others seemed to be able to stall out the Devas easily, the large number of Knightmon was proving too much for the less-experienced ultimates that now faced them. Cyberdramon and Chirinmon had been able to easily take out a few Knightmon from surprise attacks, but as the minutes flew by they found it harder and harder to defeat any more of the armored Digimon.

"Listen, I have an idea," AeroVeedramon hissed to avoid the ears of his enemies, "I can take them out all at once."

"Are you referring to your Dragon Impulse?" Cyberdramon inquired. AeroVeedramon nodded. "You know that attack won't be as powerful now. You might not take out as many as you think."

"If I can get at least half of them it'll be easier for you two to mop up the rest, at least." AeroVeedramon reasoned.

"It seems dangerous," Chirinmon warned, "That attack uses up all of your energy. You'll be very vulnerable afterwards."

"So don't let anything happen to me then." AeroVeedramon warned.

"How bold, holding a strategy meeting right in front of your enemies." The lead Knightmon scoffed. "Do you expect us to just ignore you while you conspire?"

"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon roared, flinging a wave of energy at the monster. The knight blocked the attack with his sword as the dramon rushed towards him, using the attack as cover. "Get to it Veedramon!" The ultimate growled.

"You know what I need!" AeroVeedramon yelled back as an enemy moved in, swinging his sword erratically at the blue dragon, who jumped into the air to dodge.

"Wind Cutter Sword!" Chirinmon charged forward and tried to pierce the nearest knight with her horn. The monster jumped away, narrowly avoiding the attack, but Chirinmon did not chase after him. Instead she swooped into the air, flying around to the back of the group of Knightmon, and began attacking the ones that were scattered at the edge.

"Get off of me!" AeroVeedramon slashed at the Knightmon that had kept on his tail, trying desperately to find a clear area so he could attack.

Cyberdramon meanwhile attracted the attention of as many of the Digimon as he could, slashing at large groups and then retreating, letting them all encircle him.

"Ugh!" Chirinmon cried from the fringes of the group. AeroVeedramon and Cyberdramon looked towards him to see that the Pegasus had been struck down. A Knightmon had gotten a lucky swing and had slashed at the monster's underbelly. Chirinmon spiraled through the air and crashed onto the ground, degenerating to Kudamon in the process.

"Dammit!" Cyberdramon flew out of the circle of knights and slammed into the Knightmon that was chasing her, driving his claws into the monster's armor. He ripped through the metal, dug into the opponent's chest, and threw him to the side as his data dissipated. The dramon then rushed for Kudamon, scooping her off the ground. "Do it now Veedramon!"

"Agh!" The Digimon that had been chasing AeroVeedramon was distracted by Cyberdramon's order, and didn't notice as AeroVeedramon's fist crashed into his face. AeroVeedramon then jumped back, free for a moment to prepare his attack. He looked at the field of Digimon in front of him, which had begun to separate into two groups: one to attack him and the other to go after Cyberdramon and Kudamon.

"I need to make this fast." AeroVeedramon focused, and his body began to glow brightly. It enveloped his body, taking the shape of a large winged serpent. "Dragon Impulse!" AeroVeedramon roared as he flew forward, tearing through the armored Digimon in front of him. The light around his body exploded as it came into contact with each of the Knightmon, blowing each of them into oblivion as he flew. He swept across the street, obliterating as many of the enemy soldiers as he could, and crashed to the ground a few seconds later as Veemon.

"Oh damn, that hurt…" Veemon groaned as he fell to the ground. His eyelids fell closed as he slipped into sleep, unconscious due to the amount of energy he had just expended.

Cyberdramon had jumped away with Kudamon, narrowly avoiding his ally's attack, and now surveyed the battle field from the air. A few Knightmon remained, scattered at the edges of a large burn mark in the road. Five of them stumbled to their feet, having jumped to safety just before AeroVeedramon's attack had come through.

"Good job kid." Cyberdramon commented as he flew over to the unconscious rookie and scooped him off of the ground. "Now I just have to find somewhere to dump you two so I can handle the rest of these guys." He looked around and spotted the building where most of the human Digidestined were located. The battle between WarGrowlmon and Etemon raged in between. He decided to risk the exposure, and flew over them towards the safety of the tower beyond.

Landing on the rooftop, Cyberdramon was greeted by his partner, Kairo, along with a few of the other Digidestined children: Jeri and Sora.

"Are they okay?" Sora cried as Cyberdramon landed, holding her unconscious partner in his arm.

"They'll be fine," Cyberdramon answered as he set them down. Sora ran forward and scooped up her rookie partner. "But for now they're out of commission. That attack is too overpowered," He looked to Veemon, "I'm glad I'm not against you guys anymore. That thing would take me out in a heartbeat."

"Thanks for getting them to safety." Jeri walked over and picked up Veemon, wiping the rain off of his head. "You keep safe too, okay?" She smiled.

"I'm going to mop up the rest of the Knightmon down there and then go help WarGrowlmon with Etemon." Cyberdramon nodded, and with that he took off back towards the battle.

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**4:10 P.M**

Susumu stood between the Knightmon and Tai, trembling as the Digimon came towards them. He quickly looked around, trying to find anything he could use as a weapon. Spotting a lone brick in the debris pile, he quickly bent down and scooped it up, poising his arm so that he could throw it if need be.

"Get away!" Susumu warned. "Just go away, and don't come back!"

"Dad, you're no match for him!" Tai called as his voice swelled with fear. "He'll kill you!"

Susumu wasn't paying attention, however. His eyes were fixed on the Digimon looming before him. "Takato, Davis, get my son off of that pole." He ordered. The Knightmon charged at the humans, his sword pointing forward. Susumu launched his brick at the Digimon's head. It smashed into the monster's helmet, crumbling harmlessly as it collided.

However the clay dust got into the knight's eyes, causing him to veer away as he attempted to wipe the debris out of his eyes. Susumu rolled away as the Digimon stomped past him and stopped quickly, not wanting to run into a wall. Susumu stayed close to the ground, hoping to find another weapon to use against the monster.

The Knightmon wasn't incapacitated for long. He turned around and saw Susumu crouched on the ground. He charged forward and slammed his sword into the earth just as Susumu jumped away. The man breathed heavily, scrambling away as the Knightmon continued slashing at him.

"Takato, Davis!" Tai called to the two boys as he watched his father barely dodge the Knightmon's attacks. "I've got an idea." He looked up to the top of the pole. "If you two can lift me up, I can fit these handcuffs over the top and get off of this thing."

"Great idea Tai!" Takato ran over to him and bent down to one knee. "Davis, get over here and help me lift him up." He cupped his hands together and let Tai step down on them.

"Can we even lift you?" Davis questioned as he did the same. "I mean, you're a lot taller than us. Won't you be kind of heavy?"

"Just lift!" Tai urged. "The two of you should be strong enough." He bent his knees to steady himself as the two boys began to lift. Davis and Takato struggled to lift the older boy, but they managed to handle the weight each was burdened with, and managed to lift him higher up on the pole.

"Shit!" Susumu swore as the Knightmon's sword whizzed above his head. Susumu dropped to the ground to avoid the strike, as one hit from this opponent meant certain death. As he fell, his hands touched against a rebar that had broken into smaller pieces. He grasped the end of one piece, long enough to provide a respectable offense, and rolled away from the Digimon into an open area.

Safe for the moment, he sprung to his feet and began swinging wildly at the monster. The Knightmon leaned backwards, slightly worried about the human's sudden offense. The rebar struck the edge of his chest piece, and seeing the harmlessness of the weapon, the Knightmon moved forward once again with his weapon extended. Susumu realized that his attack was useless and jumped away again, still clinging to the rebar for support.

"We're almost there." Tai grunted as he struggled to stay balanced, lest he put too much weight on one foot and cause either Davis or Takato to suddenly be too greatly burdened. "Just a little bit more and I'll be able to lift my arms over the top." He kept his voice down, not wanting the Knightmon or Etemon to hear his cheer.

"We're as high as we can go!" Takato called down from below. Tai looked down at them and saw that they were standing up straight with their arms lifted above their heads. Impressed that they could even manage the strain of carrying his body weight so high, Tai tried getting the rest of the way himself.

He stood back up, straightening his knees, so that he was high enough to reach the top of the pole. This put extra pressure on Takato and Davis, whose knees buckled with the sudden pressure. Tai lifted his arms up from behind his back and leaned forward, the handcuffs catching the edge of the pole.

"Hurry, I can't hold you much longer!" Davis cried. Tai shimmied his arms up the metal, searching for the lip of the pole. He finally found it, and the handcuffs slipped over the side.

"I'm free!" Tai yelled down. The two boys sighed in relief as Tai jumped off of their hands and landed awkwardly on the debris pile, almost twisting his ankle on the jagged surface. "Dad, I'm free, let's get out of here!" He yelled as an explosion rocketed from the street below. He looked over to see a burning bright light encompassing a large group of Knightmon.

"Yeah, go get 'em Veedramon!" Davis cheered, pumping his fist into the air.

As Davis cheered, Susumu slowly backed away from the Knightmon, who had grown irritated at the human's agility. He lunged forward again, smashing his blade into the debris. Susumu once again rolled to the side, but this time the Knightmon expected the move. He abandoned his sword, leaving it perched in the earth, and swung his body towards the man.

Susumu gasped in horror as the monster's large body fell towards him, unable to get away in time. He did the only thing he could do, and lifted his rebar, thrusting it forward towards the monster's face. Susumu turned his head away, clenching his eyes shut as the monster fell on top of him. He heard a sickening crunch and felt a huge weight fall upon the rebar, which slipped through Susumu's fingers and became pinned to the earth below him. Realizing he hadn't been crushed, Susumu looked up to see the rebar had penetrated the Knightmon's visor, stabbing the monster's head. He ducked away, scrambling out from under the Digimon, as his data began to float away, disappearing in the rain.

"Nice moves with the rebar Dad," Tai smiled as he joined his father.

"Taichi!" Susumu gasped with relief, wrapping his arms around his son. He squeezed tightly for a minute, breathing heavily.

"You know, we really should get out of here before Etemon sees us." Tai grunted as his face was pressed against his father's chest. The man let him go, his face aglow with a beaming smile.

"You're right. Come on, this way." Susumu indicated towards the door they had used to enter the area.

"You all go, I'll catch up." Takato told the group as they congregated. "I've got to stay with WarGrowlmon." He looked back to the battle between his partner and Etemon, and then frowned as he took in what lay before him.

"Do you give up yet?" Etemon stood atop a large piece of debris, his opponent lying on the street before him. WarGrowlmon struggled to lift his body off of the ground, his wounds too devastating. He lay beaten before Etemon, unable to fight any longer.

"I'll…never…give up…" He grunted as he failed once more to stand up. "I'll beat you… no matter what…"

"This is just kind of hilarious." Etemon smiled wickedly. "Never before have I had the satisfaction of having a Digidestined Digimon bow at my feet." He dropped his foot atop the Digimon's head and pressed down, causing the dinosaur to cry out in pain.

"Argh!" WarGrowlmon roared, helpless to fight as the mega-level Digimon pressed his foot into the dinosaur's skull.

"WarGrowlmon!" Takato cried, recklessly running towards the battle.

"Takato, get back!" Tai yelled after him. Takato ignored his words as he dashed towards his fallen partner. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his digivice, hoping that it would somehow help.

"As much as this entertains me, I think I'm done with this battle." Etemon growled. He slammed his foot down, crushing the Digimon's skull. WarGrowlmon tried to cry out but was helpless as the Digimon's heel cracked his head open.

"Takatomon…!" His voice wheezed as his body fluttered away in a storm of data.

"Guilmon!" Takato cried, tripping over an overturned piece of debris. He stopped, staring blankly at the scene before him. The Digidestined of justice dropped his digivice as the world around him went dark.


	34. Shield of the Just

**Chapter 34: Shield of the Just**

**Odaiba Convention Center**

**4:20 P.M**

**January 31****st****, 2010**

Hiroaki stood at the ready, leaning next to the doorway as Matsumoto prepared to breach. The three men had swept through the back rooms of the convention center, checking for civilians or hostile Digimon. Having found none, they confirmed their suspicions that the people within the building were most likely confined to the front face of the building so that they could be forced to watch the ensuing battle. They now were at the mid-point of the third floor, having quickly swept through the rest of the second floor and a large portion of the third with relative ease. The Knightmon were on high alert, but with only two per room Satoshi's team was easily able to tear through the enemy forces.

"Let's get in there." Satoshi ordered, and Matsumoto complied, ramming his foot into the door, causing the wood to snap. The door flew open and Matsumoto led the way in, scanning for enemies. "Move!" He rolled out of the way just as a Knightmon came barreling past him, cradling his right arm. A red blur flashed through the doorway and pounced on the Knightmon, ripping the wounded Digimon to shreds.

"This room is clear," Iori ran up to the three men and announced as his partner Flaremon finished off the soldier, "As is the rest of my half of the floor."

Of course, the fact that Flaremon had been clearing the floors with them certainly contributed to their success.

"Good job kid," Satoshi nodded to the boy, "And… lion." He looked over to the ultimate.

"Nothing to congratulate us about," Flaremon shook his head as he caught the Knightmon's fleeting data core and swallowed it. "I'm getting stronger and stronger after every fight by eating these data cores. These Knightmon barely take any effort to handle now."

"Flaremon, do you really need to keep doing that?" Iori cringed. "Every time you swallow a data core, you stop one of those Digimon from regenerating."

"Iori, we've been over this. If I do not, then we will not be able to save the people that are trapped within the confines of this building. At the moment it is either the humans or the Knightmon. Which would you prefer?"

"But do you have to keep doing it?" Iori argued. "You just said that you're easily beating them now: what's the point?"

"The Devas are still out there," Flaremon replied, "I need to be as strong as possible to help our companions defeat them."

"Listen, we can argue about ethics later," Satoshi interrupted, "We've still got a number of floors to go, so let's get to it." He started back towards the corner of the building, where the stairs were located. Hiroaki and Matsumoto followed.

"Iori, let's go." Flaremon nodded back towards the direction they came, looking at a small group of civilians who were cowering in fear. "We need to get these people out of here and then get upstairs."

"Okay," Iori sighed, "You're right; our work isn't done yet."

**4:20 P.M**

Crescemon cringed as she made her way towards the hole that led to the parking garage, grasping the wound in her side as she moved. She had been recovering from her difficult battle with Karatenmon in the alleyway, but in the process had frightened a number of humans that were fleeing from the building as the group of SAT members and Flaremon cleared each floor. Though she had managed to calm them down, Crescemon didn't wish to remain in that area any longer.

The rabbit finally decided it was best if she were to return to the front side of the convention center to check on the other battles. While not fully recovered, Crescemon felt that she might be able to lend a hand. Even if she couldn't, at the very least, it would be best to flee an area with such a large number of humans walking through it, lest she were to cause a panic.

The lunar Digimon winced as she bent down and hopped into the dark parking garage. She shook the rain water off of her fur as her eyes adjusted to the darkness once more. Finally able to see, Crescemon slowly made her way across the building. While her injury wasn't life-threatening, it was certainly incapacitating, and she began to realize that more and more as she walked.

No longer believing she would be able to aid in the fight, Crescemon debated staying in the parking garage to recover. However she felt as if she needed to see the fight, to see how her friends were doing. Even if she couldn't help, she couldn't cower within the depths of the convention center either. She made her way to the other hole in the wall and climbed out back into the rain, just in time to see a brilliant flash of light.

**4:20 P.M**

Takato found himself in a world of black. Everything around him was shrouded in darkness. The pile of debris was gone, along with the streets and buildings around him, replaced by nothingness. There was no more rain, no more wind. He couldn't hear any noises. The cries of his friends were gone, as were they, along with all of the Digimon. Takato waved his hands in the nothingness, reaching out, hoping to feel something, but failed.

"Where am I?" He whimpered as tears began to form in his eyes. "Where's… where's Guilmon?" He fell down, his knees hitting an invisible surface. The boy bit his lip, trying not to sob as tears streamed down his face.

"Takatomon…" A voice whispered from deep within the abyss.

"What…?" Takato wiped the moisture from his face and looked up, searching for the source of the voice. "Guilmon, is that you?"

"Takatomon…" The voice repeated. Takato stood up, stepping forward on the invisible path, to follow the sound.

"Guilmon, I'm coming!" He broke into a run, chasing the echoing of his partner's call.

"Takatomon, I'm here…" The voice grew louder as Takato ran.

"Guilmon? Guilmon, where are you?" Takato cried , looking every which way as he ran down the invisible path.

"Takatomon!" Guilmon appeared hovering in the abyss, his body ethereal.

"Guilmon!" Takato leaped into the darkness, his arms wrapping around the rookie's transparent body. "I thought I'd lost you!"

"You did, Takatomon." Guilmon sighed as the two separated, hovering together in the empty space. "Etemon beat me."

"Then how are you…?" Takato trailed off.

"Before he killed me, I isolated my digital core and sent it to you." Guilmon revealed his chest. Through his translucent skin Takato could see a small, shining orb, made of streams of data, rotating in circles. "It was really difficult, and it won't last for long though. If we don't act fast then I'll be reconfigured soon."

"T-that's you: your soul, I mean?" Takato stuttered.

"If that's what you want to call it, then yes." Guilmon nodded.

"Guilmon, the way you're talking right now, it's so…" Takato scratched his head, "it's so much more sophisticated."

"I remember things Takatomon, things from my past." The rookie revealed. "And I know what we have to do."

"What do you mean?" Takato inquired.

"We have to stop Etemon," Guilmon answered. "He will destroy your city if we don't, and he won't stop there. He'll destroy your entire world if given the chance."

"Why? Why does he want so badly to destroy us?"

"He's blinded by his own hatred, Takatomon." Guilmon lowered his head. "He's so convinced that humans are the problem that he fails to see the reality before him. He believes that what he's doing will save the digital world."

"He thinks he's the good guy." Takato gasped.

"That's correct. And before he can answer for his crimes, we have to make him understand that what he's doing is wrong. Etemon really is on our side, and has been all along, but he doesn't understand that."

"But that doesn't mean we can just forgive him, can we?"

"Unfortunately not," Guilmon shook his head. "Etemon's actions have caused the deaths of a lot of innocent people. Humans aren't like Digimon, they don't get reconfigured after they die. The people that Etemon has killed won't come back, and Etemon has to face judgment for that."

"Right then," Takato looked down to his crest, twirling the tag in his fingers, "We have to bring him to justice, to protect our friends."

"Exactly," Guilmon nodded, "We will be their shield." Takato's digivice then exploded with light, beating the darkness back.

"What's happening?" Takato yelled as the device let out a squeal as energy steamed out of it.

"We have to go back Takato." Guilmon told him as the light began to blind the two Digidestined. "Let's go back, and show Etemon that we're not going to back down!"

"Alright, I'm not exactly sure how, but let's do this!" Takato cheered, closing his eyes as the light encompassed him and he was deafened by the squealing of the digivice.

Then, as quickly as it began, the noise stopped and the light disappeared. Takato felt rain washing over his face, and the sounds of the battle returned.

"Takato, snap out of it!" A young boy screamed into Takato's face. The tamer opened his eyes, seeing Davis standing before him, holding his shoulders. "Takato, we have to move!" Davis shook him, trying to snap the boy out of his trance.

"Davis, you have to get out of there!" Tai called from the top of the mound, peering down at the scene below. The two Digidestined before him stood halfway up the pile of debris, while Etemon was slowly walking up towards them.

"All of you here, right within my grasp," Etemon glared at the group of humans. "It's time to end this."

"Takato, please run!" Davis jumped away, pulling Takato's arm with him, but the tamer pulled back.

"Bring it Etemon," Takato replied to Davis' surprise, not knowing that Takato had regained full consciousness.

"Foolish boy, I'll dispose of you like I did your partner!" Etemon barked and clenched his fist.

"Guilmon, let's go!" Takato bent down and scooped up his digivice. A light burst from it, radiating a large aura over the area, creating a circle around the collapsed building. Between him and Etemon, data began to collect, encircling the small space between them.

"You got it Takatomon!" Guilmon materialized within the sphere and burst forward towards Etemon. "Pyrosphere!" The blast hit Etemon square in the face, destroying the sunglasses that the mega-level Digimon wore. Etemon growled in anger, stumbling backwards as he wiped the ash from his eyes.

"You? How?" The monster roared. "I killed you!"

"You'll never defeat me," Guilmon growled, "Not as long as I have my bond with my partner!"

"This is impossible!" Etemon roared. "No, this won't happen!" Etemon ran forward towards the two, pulling his fist back to launch a final strike.

"Are you ready Takatomon?" Guilmon turned back to his partner. "We'll defeat him together."

"Right, together," Takato nodded.

"Get him Takato!" Tai cheered for the tamer as the crest of justice began to shine.

**R-O-Y-A-L D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N**

"**Takato!"**

"**Guilmon!"**

"**Royal Digivolve to…!"**

"Argh!" The explosion blinded Etemon, who stumbled away with eyes covered.

"What's happening?" Susumu cried, backing away in fear. "What's happening to Takato?"

"Relax Dad." Tai said with a wide smile on this face. He watched as a tall figure began to step out of the light.

The new Digimon was slightly larger than MetalEtemon, bearing white armor with the hazard symbol emblazoned on his chest-piece. His boots were tipped with gold, his knees and elbows protected by red joint guards. His shoulders sported two large red spaulders. An enormous lance was held in his right arm, while in his left was an even larger gold-rimmed shield, with the hazard symbol surrounded by a sunburst emblazoned onto its surface. His helmet was adorned with a small decoration resembling Guilmon's face and ears.

"Who the hell are you?" Etemon growled, shielding his eyes from the light to get a good look at his opponent.

**"Gallantmon!"**

**4:25 P.M**

Light sparkled brilliantly across the street, blinding the five remaining Knightmon who were still fighting. Cyberdramon looked forward with his silver visor protecting his eyes, further shielding them with his hand, as he gazed towards the battle between WarGrowlmon and Etemon. The ultimate dinosaur was gone, replaced by a tall, humanoid Digimon covered in red and white armor. It slowly stepped towards Etemon, who was cowering away from the light.

"He digivolved," Cyberdramon noted, "Damn, and so soon since he first went ultimate too." He saw the Knightmon around him adjust to the light, and looked towards its source.

"There's no way." One of the Knightmon gasped, stumbling backwards with a terrified look on his face.

"It can't be, not one of them!" Another chimed in, and began backing away along with the other four.

"What do you mean: 'one of them'?" Cyberdramon inquired as the soldiers continued to try and slip away unnoticed.

"I didn't sign up for this!" One of the ultimates turned around and ran down the road as fast as it could.

"Etemon said they were evil, but…" The other Knightmon followed their comrade, running down the road as fast as possible. Only one remained, stuttering as it tried to comprehend what it was seeing.

"What do you mean?" Cyberdramon spun around and grabbed the monster by the throat, staring intensely into its eyes.

"Do you not know?" The Knightmon whimpered. "That's Gallantmon, one of the Royal Knights, the guardians of and ultimate authority within the digital world."

"What?" Cyberdramon turned back to look at the two mega-levels, the Knightmon's words echoing in his mind. As he stared the Digimon in his grasp weaseled his way free and scurried away after his friends. Cyberdramon lowered his arm, glad to be free of the strain. "He's a Royal Knight?"

**4:25 P.M**

"Shit, he sees us!" Gaomon scrambled away as the raging SkullMammothmon ripped apart the small building he was hiding in. Carrying Gomamon on his back, the rookie had a tough time dodging the mega-level's sight as he attempted to escape and return to Junpei. "We've got to escape this guy if we ever want to get back to our partners!" He puffed as he ran, sliding down a slope to escape under a small bridge.

"Don't you realize you're leading him right back to the battle though?" Gomamon groaned. "You're just putting the others in more danger. We need to lead him away from the fight, not back towards it."

"Don't think we have much of a choice," Gaomon argued, "I can't outrun him for much longer. If we don't get to safety soon, we're not going to be able to escape this guy at all. I have to run!" He exclaimed, bolting out from under the bridge and down the street just as Mammothmon smashed his legs through the structure. Gaomon looked around the empty area for any signs of safety, quickly noting a number of abnormalities.

"What the hell?" He slowed down to a walk as he noticed a group of Knightmon running away from Cyberdramon, who was staring towards a bright light coming from the collapsed building across the street.

"Gaomon, over here!" Junpei exclaimed from the standing tower behind the collapsed one, signaling his partner to safety. Joe Kido stood with him, waving them over as well. Gaomon turned around to look for his pursuer, noting the Mammoth was still digging through the rubble that was the bridge to find him, and quickly ran out of the street and towards the two Digidestined.

"What's going on over there?" Gaomon inquired as he dropped off the seal Digimon, who was then picked up by Joe.

"What are you talking about?" Junpei, who unaware of the events on the street, inquired.

"Come on, something funny's going on with Etemon and WarGrowlmon." Gaomon grabbed his partner's arm and ran towards the opposite side of the destroyed structure, Joe following close behind as he held onto his battered partner.

**4:27 P.M**

"There's no way." Etemon slid backwards, onto the empty street behind him. "You can't be: it's not possible!" He bellowed, desperately refuting the identity of the warrior standing in front of him.

"Do you finally understand?" Gallantmon spoke calmly, staring down his opponent not with anger, but with warmth. Gallantmon held no hatred within him, only compassion for a foolish Digimon who had not been able to grasp the gravity of his actions. "How long has it been Etemon? How long since you first developed this intense hatred of humans? By digital world time, I'd say it was about 105 years ago, correct?"

"That's when… that's when they first attacked!" Etemon cried. "The humans, th-they destroyed my world!"

"And yet here I stand: a member of the Royal Knights, not only allied with the humans, but joined with one of them in body and spirit as well." Gallantmon replied. "The time has come for you to finally listen to reason Etemon."

"There is no reason in this!" Etemon's eyes were filled with fear.

"Your actions started with the purest of intentions. You had nothing but love for the digital world and its inhabitants. You wished for nothing more than to protect the Digimon from outside forces that sought to harm the innocent. That was your only mistake, thinking that the threat to the digital world came from outside, rather than within. You were not there, were you? The great wars of old, when the Royal Knights stood against the Dark Masters, and Myotismon's armies?"

"I've… I've heard the stories but…" Etemon stuttered.

"You have not seen with your own two eyes the terror that Digimon are capable of inflicting upon each other, and that is not your fault. Certainly, you are blessed to have been saved from such atrocities. However because of that you were unable to see the humans for what they were. They were not aggressors who came to destroy the digital world and enslave its inhabitants. They came to help us and instead were made into puppets that could not help but do their master's bidding, their _digital_ master."

"No, I refuse to listen to lies!"

"Open your eyes to the truth!" Gallantmon finally roared, a righteous fury behind his words. "I, a Royal Knight, stand before you and tell you that the humans are not our enemies, but our allies. If you will not heed _my_ words, then you are a hopeless fool."

"I am no fool! And you are no Knight!" Etemon bellowed, standing straight as he glared back at the warrior. "A real Royal Knight would never align itself with scum such as humans!"

"Watch your tongue!" Gallantmon flung his lance forward, stopping just before he reached Etemon's throat. The mega-level quickly backed down, scrambling back a few feet. "I am Gallantmon, judge of the Royal Knights! I am the just, the observer, the incorruptible! I alone wield the purest data core, one which cannot be tainted with dark data! I reserve the right to pass judgment on any Digimon because I alone am the only Digimon who can see the world with a purely objective perspective, as it was ordained to me by the mighty Susanoomon! You question not only me, but my brothers, my knighthood, and my master! I will not allow such insolence from somebody who is so obviously blinded by their own fear!"

"I fear nothing!" Etemon growled, crushing loose rocks in his palm.

"You fear more than anyone around you. The course of action you have taken has led you down a path from which you cannot turn back! You are afraid to open your mind to the truth, because if you do, you will have to accept that the last 100 years have all been for nothing! You will have to accept that you are not a righteous warrior for the digital world, but instead you are one of its greatest enemies, for instead of aiding in its protection you have done nothing but fight, time and time again, to eliminate its greatest champions!"

"These are lies!" Etemon had enough. He flung himself forward, aiming for Gallantmon's throat. The knight knocked him away, throwing the monkey into the street with one strike from his lance. The monster leaned on his knees, the force of the blast too much for him to withstand. He sighed heavily, outmatched.

"I do not wish to kill you, Etemon, even now after all you've done. You are not an evil Digimon by nature. The only darkness that exists within you is there because of the hatred within your heart. If you let that go, then the darkness will have no control over you, and you can be free. You are blinded, confused, and scared, qualities that are only natural to a living creature. Give up now, before I'm forced to take drastic actions."

"Don't you see Etemon?" Tai walked down from the mound, joining the Royal Knight's side. "This is what I've been trying to tell you from the beginning. I was never your enemy."

"I don't want to hear anything from the likes of you." Etemon growled, struggling to get back to his feet. "I refuse to believe that you and your kind are anything but the worst kind of scum. You are filth, unfitting to touch even the bottom of my heel! You and every one of your kind deserve to die like insects, crushed by your betters with no notice as to the fact that you ever existed!"

"Do not stand again, Etemon." Gallantmon warned. Etemon disobeyed, wobbling towards Tai. "I said stop!" Gallantmon ordered to no avail. The monkey kept moving. Finally Gallantmon intervened, knocking the mega away with the tip of his lance. The weapon pierced his enemy's torso, cracking the chrome digizoid with ease. Etemon fell backwards, helpless against the strike.

"Etemon!" A voice boomed from down the street. The three turned to see SkullMammothmon barreling towards them. "I'll kill you! How dare you touch him!"

"Tai, move!" Gallantmon ordered the teen, but quickly realized there was no time. Having no choice, he bent down, scooping Tai behind his shield, which began to glow brightly as the Mammoth came upon them. "Shield of the Just!" Energy burst from the face of the shield, ripping through the raging mega-level's body with ease. The monster's bones crumbled and the large orb in the center of his chest vaporized. SkullMammothmon was no more. Gallantmon stood up, releasing Tai from his protection.

"You…" Etemon stared furiously at Gallantmon.

"Such a pity," Gallantmon shook his head, "Hopefully when he reconfigures he will choose a more righteous path."

"I'll kill you!" Etemon lunged towards the knight.

"Lightning Joust!" Gallantmon raised his lance and fired a bolt of electricity out of the tip, which shot into Etemon from the vulnerable crack in his chest armor. The Digimon's body shook horribly, the energy within him ripping his body to shreds. Gallantmon quickly ceased his attack, and the metal monster fell to his knees once more.

"Even now, I cannot bring myself to destroy you." Gallantmon sighed. "I'm afraid if I did, the core of the digital world might mistake your hatred for pure darkness, and banish you to the dark plane. That is a fate I could not wish on my greatest enemy."

"Ugh…" Etemon groaned, attempting to respond.

"If you wish to live, you know what you must do." Gallantmon spoke. "Give up this form, and with it, whatever hold you have over the digital gate, so that this city may be free of your stranglehold."

"Never…" Etemon gasped as he fell, crushing the rubble as his large body crashed into the earth. The Digimon's body then became encased in a white energy, disappearing a moment later to reveal a much smaller Digimon.

"You are defeated Gazimon." Gallantmon spoke to Etemon's rookie form. "Find your way back to the digital world post haste, lest you be trapped in this world forever. Now that you've given up your power, that gate will not hold for long."

"I…hate…you…" Gazimon groaned as he stood up. "I hate all of you!" The rabbit-like Digimon backed away, glaring viciously at Tai and the Royal Knight.

"He's spared your life Gazimon," Tai now spoke, walking up to the rookie, "Take this opportunity. Your life was in the hands of humans, and the Digimon who partnered with them, and you were spared. Think about that." Gazimon didn't reply. The two stared at each other intensely, and the rabbit finally ran off, disappearing with the mist as the rain picked up.

"Are you sure that was the best idea?" Tai turned to Gallantmon, who was watching with keen eyes as the rookie ran away. "He still didn't learn his lesson. He'll be back one day."

"Perhaps," Gallantmon nodded, "But I cannot in good conscious risk sending him to the dark plane. He was once a hero of the digital world, fighting for justice just as I do, but he fell down the wrong path. It's not his fault, and I will not take his life for it. However he does need to answer for the crimes he has committed, and when he finally accepts what I've told him, he will be ready to face judgment." They heard an unusually loud crack of thunder, and looked up into the sky curiously. Lightning shot through the sky, violently tearing through the air.

"What's happening?" Tai inquired.

"Relax, it's nothing to fear." Gallantmon assured him. Just then, the rain stopped. Tai wiped his face, sighing with relief. "It's finally coming to an end." With Gallantmon's words came the sun. The fog began to fade, disappearing with each bolt of lightning, and the mid-afternoon sun broke through, striking the welcoming streets of Tokyo with its rays.

"But, how?" Tai turned to Gallantmon, who was now brightly glowing, preparing to degenerate before the digital field disappeared.

"Izzy has been working on shutting the data field down, and now that Etemon's hold has been broken, he finally broke the connection. Tokyo is free." He said happily as his body disappeared, yielding an unconscious Takato and in-training form Guilmon lying where he once stood.

"Way to go Takato," Tai smiled at the sleeping boy, "You did it. You saved us all." He bent down and lifted the younger boy in his arms as the rest of the Digidestined began to gather around them.

**One Week Later**

"Wake up…" A voice spoke into his ear. "Wake up now." He shifted within the confines of his rocky prison, the voice slowly stirring him awake.

"You've slept for far too long. We have work that needs to be done." He struggled as he slowly regained consciousness, feeling the confines of the earth around him.

"I said WAKE UP!" Henry awoke in total darkness.


	35. The Darkness Within

**Chapter 35: The Darkness Within**

**Digital World, File Island**

**8:00 A.M**

**February 7****th****, 2010**

Henry had awoken. He tried to look around, but found his head completely locked in place. Dirt and debris surrounded his face, blocking his airways. He tried to breathe in, only sucking up dirt, and began coughing violently as a result.

"You can't stay like this." The voice in his head warned. "Use your strength, and free yourself from this prison."

Henry knew that the voice was right. He was going to die if he didn't use his abilities. Focusing, he began to materialize a dark mist around his body. It quickly ate away at the debris, giving him room to move. He unleashed the energy, sending it upwards. It disintegrated the earth around him, opening a hole to the surface. Henry crawled out, shielding his eyes against the harsh sun. Once they were adjusted, he began surveying his surroundings, finding that he was on top of Infinity Mountain on File Island.

"How long have I been down there?" He groaned, speaking rhetorically.

"It's been over a week." The voice inside his head replied. "You would have died, had I not enveloped you in a protective seal while you healed."

"What the…?" Henry looked around, searching for the voice. "Who said that?"

"I'm offended. Do you really not remember me?" It hissed. "After all those years, trapped in the bottom of that mountain: spend a few years topside and you forget all about me, your closest friend?"

"No…" Henry said as he realized who was speaking to him. "That's not possible. I made you up. I was just talking to myself so that I wouldn't go insane."

"Talking to yourself so that you wouldn't go insane?" The voice laughed. "Do you understand how ridiculous that sounds?"

"This can't be true. You can't be real!" Henry gripped his head as he began to develop a headache.

"Oh I am real, more so than you could ever imagine." It replied. "And I've been waiting for just this moment."

"What are you talking about?" Henry whimpered as his head began to pound harder and harder.

"I've been grooming you, Henry. Your body will become the vessel with which I return to tangible form."

"I don't understand. What do you mean return?" Henry inquired. "You've existed before? Who are you?"

"You don't need to know that. All that you need to know is that little outburst last week was just what I needed to be free. I couldn't capitalize the first time you did it back at Shichiri village. You weren't vulnerable enough for me to escape. But this time was perfect. You were trapped underneath the dirt, suffocating. You couldn't defend yourself. This allowed me to free myself from that hellacious prison you call a mind and seep into your body. Now I've finally gained complete control. All I needed was to wake you up so I could 'switch drivers', if you will."

"What you're saying, it doesn't make any sense." Henry shook his head. "This isn't real, you don't exist!"

"You can cry all you want but it won't change the truth!" The voice grew louder, as if it was echoing throughout his skull. "This body is mine now!" The voice spoke through his mouth. Henry gasped, clasping his hand over his mouth.

"No…" Henry gasped.

"I've been sitting on the sidelines for years, whispering in your ear, guiding you towards this moment. Now it's finally my turn to take control!"

"No!" Henry tried to fight as he began to lose control of his body. He dropped to his knees, gripping the sides of his head, as every muscle resisted his commands. He was helpless as he watched his body change color, becoming an even darker purple than before. He became detached from his body, falling into the back of his mind, as the voice inside his head took full control.

"This is my body now." The new Henry stood up and began to feel the side of his left arm with his right palm. He brushed his hand through his hair and took a deep gasp. "Ah, it's been too long since I've been able to walk around in a tangible body of my own. Even if it is an ugly meat sack such as this, it's still real!" He stretched his arms above his head, working his new muscles after they had been confined for so long.

"Let me out!" Henry yelled from within.

"I'm sorry, but you are no longer a part of my plan." He laughed. "Henry, your part is done. I thank you, now go away!"

"No!" Henry cried, "This is my body!" His voice grew quieter inside the imposter's mind. "I won't let you do this! Let me out!" His words faded, and eventually disappeared altogether. The new Henry was alone.

"Finally, I'm free of that foolish boy." He breathed in deeply once more. "Onto the next phase," The new Henry calmly began walking down the slope of the mountain, enjoying his newfound freedom. "Now, where is Primary village from here?"

**Tokyo Subway System**

**9:00 A.M**

Takato stared blankly out the window of the compartment, watching the walls of the subway tunnel pass by. He couldn't help but feel a little amazement as the metal tube flew through the passageway, admiring the tenacity of the structure. Throughout the entire invasion of Tokyo by the Digimon, the vast majority of the subway system had remained not only intact, but completely unharmed. It seemed that the Knightmon hadn't the time to fully infiltrate the underground passageways, allowing not only them but the large number of Tokyo citizens who had chosen to hide within them to stay safe from the intruders.

Takato let his head role to the side, his body lazily sprawled across the empty seat. He saw a newspaper lying on the ground, and decided to read it out of boredom. The boy shook his head as he read the headline:

**Tokyo Recovers from Mysterious Terrorist Attack**

He admired the ability of humans to find the simplest explanation to a problem and roll with it, no matter how many holes that explanation might have. The story said that an unknown terrorist group had unleashed a massive assault on Tokyo, destroying hundreds of buildings and kidnapping thousands of citizens while dressed as medieval knights to hide their identities. It'd be a nice explanation too, had it done anything to account for the giant monsters that were raging about Tokyo the entire time.

However Takato had accepted that the citizens of Tokyo would convince themselves of this explanation. It was easier for them to forget about the giant monsters and assume a terrorist attack than to acknowledge the existence of otherworldly monsters. Not all were so easy to accept the easier lie, however. Tai and Matt's fathers had both been instrumental in fighting the digital horde, and a small SAT team had also experienced the fighting first hand. Satoshi, Katsu, and Matsumoto had quickly given up trying to convince their superiors that they had fought monsters from another world, but they wouldn't forget about the battle that had cost the lives of a number of their friends.

On the other side of the compartment, Kairo lay across the empty seat, sound asleep. The two boys were traveling to Odaiba from Kairo's residence in Shinjuku, on their way to a meeting with the other Digidestined. Following the aftermath of the battle, the Digidestined had not wanted to make a large fuss over their existence, so they had quickly dispersed, locating their parents and following them home. Takato's family had decided to stay at Kairo's house for a while, while repairs began on Odaiba. The island had seen one of the largest battles and was one of the most heavily damaged parts of the city.

Trapped in Shinjuku, Takato had almost no communication with the other Digidestined. He only had Kairo to talk to, who hadn't been very talkative without his partner around. His other companion he could only speak to in the silent safety of the room he had been sharing with Kairo. He looked down at his lap, into the open backpack that he was holding. Gigimon, the in-training form of Guilmon, was secretly nestled within, out of sight of curious eyes. Though even if someone did see the Digimon, he simply looked like a stuffed animal.

The train stopped and the doors opened, and the only other passengers in the car, a woman and her young son, exited. Takato, Kairo, and Gigimon were now alone. Takato sighed with some relief. He took the backpack off of his lap and placed it down on the seat next to him, pulling the bag wide open so that the Digimon inside could easily wiggle free. The small red dinosaur slipped out of the backpack, rolling onto the floor.

"I thought those people would never leave Takatomon," Gigimon lamented as he hopped back up onto the seat to speak with his partner, "I thought for sure I was going to be stuck in that bag all the way to Odaiba." The Digimon hopped back down onto the floor and began skipping up and down the aisle as he stretched his legs, glad to be free of the confines of the bag.

"Hey Takatomon, whatcha thinking about?" The Digimon once again climbed up to the seat. "You're looking kinda down."

"No, it's nothing Gigimon." Takato shook his head. "Actually, there was one small thing on my mind."

"What's that?"

"Do you…" Takato hesitated to continue, "Do you remember what it was like when we merged together?"

"Of course I do, don't you?" Gigimon tilted his head-body.

"I didn't remember anything at first." Takato revealed. "The whole thing was just one big blur. It was like I was asleep. But now, I'm starting to remember bits and pieces. Nothing concrete, more like feelings I had at the time, you know?"

"I remember everything," Gigimon answered, "And you're right. It felt great. Becoming one with you granted me more power than I could ever imagine. I was a Royal Knight before I met you Takatomon, but even back then I didn't have nearly as much strength as when we fused together."

"Yeah, that's the feeling I'm talking about," Takato said in agreement, "It's not like I know exactly what the power felt like, but I know it was something greater than either of us had ever felt before. And someday, when we need to, I want to do it again."

"You might get your wish sooner than you think Takatomon." Gigimon said somberly.

"What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain, but I can sense something coming." Gigimon's eyes became slits as he stared off into space. "I don't know what is, but it's something bad, and something incredibly strong. It is way stronger than anything we've ever faced before. Etemon was nothing compared to this."

"And you're sure about this?" Takato inquired.

"Yeah I am, unfortunately. We have our work cut out for us Takatomon, and we might not be prepared for what is to come."

"Don't worry." Takato stood up, his fist clenched. "Whatever it is, we'll find a way to defeat it, no matter how strong it is. When we were fighting Etemon everything about the situation screamed that we should have lost, but we beat the odds and came out stronger than ever before. I don't care who or what is coming: we will defeat them."

"I like your attitude Takatomon!" Gigimon jumped up happily. As he did, the train stopped once more, and the doors opened.

"Oh no, someone's coming!" Takato ducked down, grabbed his backpack, and scooped his partner inside. The Digimon's tail wiggled violently as he tried to force him inside.

"Agh, Takatomon: that hurts!"

"Shh, be quiet!"

**Odaiba Apartments**

**9:30 A.M**

Takato and Kairo arrived on the rooftop of the Odaiba apartment complex. A large group of humans and Digimon awaited them. Izzy and Yolei stood over the computer, with Izzy rapidly typing on the keyboard. Tai and Kari stood with their parents, explaining the machine to them as best as they could, while Matt and his father Hiroaki watched them. Jeri, Iori, Davis, and Junpei were dispersed around the rooftop, talking with their partners.

"Kairo!" Monodramon, who was leaning lazily against the penthouse garage, bounced up when he saw his partner, and ran over to greet him.

"Hey Takato," Yolei looked up upon Monodramon's call, and seeing the newcomers, waved the boy over.

"Hello Yolei." Takato replied respectfully as he slipped his backpack off and unzipped it, allowing Gigimon to hop out. The in-training Digimon gasped for air, having been trapped within the bag for almost half an hour. "It looks like we're missing a few people." He looked over to Gomamon and Kudamon, who were also leaning against the penthouse garage with nothing to do.

"Joe's coming," Yolei answered, "And he's picking up Sora on the way here. They shouldn't be much longer: Joe called earlier and said he was only a few minutes away."

"Alright then," Takato nodded, "In the meantime, what are we doing here?"

"It'd be best to wait until Joe and Sora got here," Tai answered, "But basically we're going back to the digital world."

"That's kind of sudden," Takato scratched his chin, "Not that I don't want to go back, but what's the rush?"

"For one thing, we promised we'd come back after we finished helping our world." Jeri piped in. "It's been almost a week since then."

"In addition to that, there are a few loose ends we have to clear up." Izzy added.

"Like what?" Takato inquired.

"Like me." Junpei growled, glaring at Izzy. "Your friend thinks there's a 'dark needle' inside me that needs to be taken out."

"But there is J.P.," Kairo walked over to his fellow Digidestined, "They found the same thing inside of me." He reached his hand out for the boy's shoulder.

"Shut up!" Junpei knocked Kairo's arm away and sneered. "Even if there was something wrong with me, I don't need the help from _you _people." He glared angrily at Kairo, who stumbled backwards with a frown.

"You don't have much of a choice." Yolei growled. "You're going to the digital world and getting that needle taken out of you." She crossed her arms, standing over the boy in an intimidating pose. Junpei looked away and grumbled.

"What are the other loose ends?" Takato inquired.

"We need to go to the fourth plane, where the Devas were stationed," Izzy explained, "And figure out if Makuramon and any of the other Devas that were allied with him are still alive. We also need to figure out if any of the Devas that are still loyal to Etemon are alive and make sure that they don't try to cause trouble in the real world again." As he spoke, Joe and Sora arrived from the stairway and greeted their partners. Izzy recapped for them what the two main objectives were.

"There's one more thing we should all be aware of," Takato added, looking towards Gigimon, "Gigimon says he senses something coming from the digital world: something more powerful than anything we've ever faced before."

"What do you mean?" Kari bent down towards Gigimon, who was staring at the digital gate with widened eyes.

"It's just a feeling," Gigimon replied, never taking his eyes off the gate, "But it's definitely there. I'm not sure what it is, but it's in the digital world right now, waiting for us."

"How can you know that for sure?" Junpei inquired. "Is it because you're 'Gallantmon the incorruptible'? Give me a break." He scoffed.

"I wasn't lying about that," Gigimon growled, darting his eyes towards Junpei. The boy looked away nervously when the Digimon's gaze reached him. "My master Susanoomon created me specifically with an incorruptible data core, so that I could be an impartial judge for the Royal Knights. But no, that's not why I know about the evil in the digital world. As a Digimon, I'm connected to it, and can feel when there's a disturbance. My connection is stronger now that my memories as a Royal Knight have returned as well."

"While we're on that subject," Matt looked down at the Digimon, "Why did you become a Royal Knight at the mega level? The rest of our partners had to reach ultimate mega before they regained their memories."

"Not all of us Knights had reached ultimate mega when the first wave of the dark beacon consumed the digital world." Gigimon answered. "I and a handful of other Knights were of the mega level when it occurred. However that does not mean we are ordinary megas. We possess strength far superior to any mega-level Digimon, with or without the activation energy required for a first time Digivolution."

"If you're done interrogating my partner," Takato interjected, "We should get on with this discussion of the digital world, please."

"Sorry Takato," Matt apologized.

"Anyway," Izzy continued, "Since the gate is now fully operational, and there's no longer any interference from Etemon and whatever signal he was using to bring the data field into the human world, there's nothing stopping us from returning to the digital world. I suggest that the active Digidestined split up into two groups. Kairo, Iori, Sora, and Joe can go to the fourth plane and search for Makuramon. Meanwhile Takato, Jeri, Davis, and J.P. can go to the digital world proper and find a way to purge the dark needle from Junpei, as well as investigate Gigimon's claims of a new evil."

"We will be coming too." Tai stepped forward with Matt standing behind him. "We want to go to Primary village and assess the situation with our partner Digimon." A grunt from behind him directed Tai's attention towards his parents. "I mean, if that's okay with you guys." He smiled at them innocently.

"We're not comfortable with letting you go into this new world that you've just told us about all alone," Susumu responded, "You're just kids for God's sake."

"However you all proved to be able to handle yourselves last week better than any of us ever could." Hiroaki added.

"Come on Dad," Matt rubbed the back of his head and smiled, "You kicked ass back there."

"Nonetheless we still worry about you all, but we know we can't stop you from leaving if you are really determined to go." Yuuko added. "And on top of that, it wouldn't be right of us to do so. You have an obligation to that world and we can't stand in the way."

"However we want you all to stay in constant contact with us." Susumu ordered. "If we know that you are safe, we can be comfortable with letting you head off into an unknown situation."

"That might be a little difficult." Iori added. "We don't really have a fast way of travelling between the worlds, at least not the return trip."

"I can modify everyone's digivices to be like mine." Kairo proposed. "In maybe half an hour I can make everybody's digivice able to travel between the human and digital worlds with the press of a button."

"Dad, if it's not too much to ask," Tai scratched his head, "Would you be able to cover for the rest of the Digidestined who are going there, so that their parents don't worry?"

"I'm not comfortable lying to other parents who would be as worried as we would be," Susumu shook his head, "But as long as you stay in constant contact and let us know that everybody is safe, I can tell the other parents that their children are safe as well."

"Can do." Kairo nodded. "Now if everybody could give me their digivices." He reached his hand out for the first digivice, which was handed to him by Takato. Half an hour later, Kairo had finished. Now everybody's digivice was equipped with a new button that could open a portal to the human world.

"Alright, if everybody is ready, we can begin." Izzy began typing away on his computer. "I'm programming the gate to open in the digital world in the last place where a portal had formed, which will be the fourth plane." The machine began to whir, and a sheet of plasma formed in the center, surprising Susumu and Yuuko. "It's good to go."

"Let's move then." Joe stepped forward with Gomamon.

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to bring supplies like last time?" Sora inquired.

"There is no need, as long as you can quickly travel between the human and digital worlds." Izzy responded. Sora nodded unsurely, and then joined Joe along with Kudamon, who was riding on her shoulder.

"I'm ready, let's do this." Iori nodded as he and Kairo walked forward with their partners.

"Let's just hope we didn't leave the digital world in too large a mess." Kairo sighed.

"Come on!" Joe stepped forward and fell into the portal. Gomamon trailed after him, followed by Sora.

"Let us venture forth once more my friends!" Coronamon cheered, and leaped into the portal as well. Iori looked hesitant for a second, but soon followed after him. Kairo looked at Monodramon, and the two nodded to each other, and then stepped into the portal together. Once everyone was clear, Izzy turned off the machine. The plasma sheet disappeared, and the machine was silent.

"Okay, now for the next group. I'm setting the coordinates to Primary Village on File Island." He set to work, and a moment later the gate began to whir.

"Yeah, this is going to be great!" Davis cheered, grabbing his partner's arms. "Veemon, we're finally going to get to go to the digital world!"

"Uh, yeah, it'll be great." Veemon said unsurely.

"What's wrong?" Davis inquired. "Aren't you excited to see your home?"

"Well, truth be told, I've never been there before. I was born here last week, remember?" Veemon laughed nervously.

"Oh yeah." Davis nodded. "Then it'll be an adventure for both of us." The gate before them opened.

"It's ready." Izzy stated. "There's a clear path to Primary Village. You're all good to go through."

"Let's do this!" Davis yelled happily, and pulled his partner along with him into the gate.

"Wow, he has no fear." Takato observed. "Well, are you ready Gigimon?" The small dinosaur looked up at him with beaming eyes.

"Let's do this Takatomon." It nodded. The two then leaped in after Davis and Veemon.

"Well, no sense dawdling." Tai stepped up behind Jeri and Junpei, pushing them both forward.

"He's right, let's go Lunamon." Jeri nodded to her partner. The two confidently jumped into the portal and vanished from sight.

"Your turn." Tai shoved Junpei forward once more.

"Eh, I'll pass." Junpei shrugged apathetically.

"Agh!" Gaomon yelled. Junpei looked up to see Matt tossing the rookie into the portal.

"You just gonna leave him out there?" Matt smiled.

"Asshole," Junpei grumbled, stepping forward slightly. As he did so Tai pushed hard at the boy's back, and Junpei tumbled into the gate.

"Alright, you ready Matt?" Tai smiled at his fellow Digidestined.

"I almost can't believe it." Matt smiled as well. "After all these years, I finally get to go back to the digital world. It almost seems too good to be true."

"Don't get too excited." Tai warned. "Apparently we're in for a fight once we get there."

"That's what's so exciting." He said jokingly. The two boys then ran forward together and leaped into the portal, vanishing into the sheet of plasma.

**Library of the Devas**

**Fourth Plane, Digital World**

**10:00 A.M**

Alone on the fourth plane of the digital world, home of the Devas, there stood a large, black Digimon. He was covered in ebony armor, with massive silver blades jutting out from his wrists. The canine Digimon had two shoulder pads that were each shaped like the head of a dog, and he also bore a helmet similar in design over his head.

Cerberumon stood deep within the catacombs of the Library of the Devas, flipping through a thick leather bound book. The volume was a physical rendition of the files stored within the digital core, something the Deva Antylamon had developed a long time ago. Having seen off the other Devas to begin invading the digital world, Cerberumon finally found himself alone, with complete access to the library. He had browsed volume after volume, searching for a specific topic.

The Devas had been gone for a week, and Cerberumon didn't know if they were dead or alive. He rightly didn't care which. All he desired was access to the library, and the contents of a particular book, the one he was reading now. Using the tip of his claw, he flipped the page, and smiled upon viewing the information written there. He closed the book and grabbed it within his jaws. He maneuvered the book under one of his shoulder pads, pinning it against the teeth like protrusions.

The monster smiled as it began climbing out of the catacombs, satisfied with the information it had just procured. He pranced forward gleefully, his deed finally complete. He had infiltrated the Devas a very long time ago, and the fruits of his labors had finally paid off. He now had access to the information he needed, and no longer had to keep up the charade of being a loyal servant to Etemon.

As the canine stepped outside, he heard a loud ripping noise. The Digimon stared out into the open space of the fourth plane, down a wooden walkway towards a circular platform floating in the clouds. A large blue circle of light had appeared in the middle of it, and a number of small figures were stepping through.

"Someone is coming." The Digimon growled. "Odd; it's not the Devas." He said with curiosity in his voice. "I wonder what they're up to."

**Primary Village, File Island**

**10:00 A.M**

New Henry stood at the top of a hill, overlooking the tranquil Primary Village. He smirked as he contemplated how best to execute his plan, wondering exactly where he would begin. As the entity began to walk down the hill, however, he saw a large blue portal open in the distance. A number of humans and Digimon piled out, landing in the field outside of the main village.

"Perfect," New Henry smiled; "Now the fun can begin."


End file.
